51 Into the Wilderness
by ARtheBard
Summary: The team heads to Arkansas to track down a rapist whose attacks are escalating. Morgan and Emily head out into Devils Den Park to profile the scenes of the rapes. But when storms cause problems for them, Emily finds herself alone in the wilderness with the rapist...who targets brown-eyed brunettes.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Howdy! I'm back. I had planned to get back from Dallas last Sunday and finish this story. However, my wife and I found out a sad truth that morning: we are too young (I'm 40, she's 44) to go to bed at 11 with the older folks but WAY too old to close down the bars with the younger folks. FYI- -Hangovers suck! :o)**

**So this one picks up right where "50" ended. Time for the team, minus the blonde incubator, to head out after the bad guys. Lets see what happens when Emily is forced to go "Into the Wilderness."**

**Enjoy! -AR**

* * *

JJ answers the phone after the first ring. "I'm fine. I swear."

Emily smiles sadly. "I know."

JJ hears the melancholy in her wife's voice and sighs. "Case?"

"Yeah. Winslow, Arkansas."

"Where the hell is that?"

"Too far away from you for me to follow through on the promise I made you about this weekend."

"Emily, it's the job. I get it. Beside, Mom and Dad will be here this evening. I won't be alone and they can take care of Rocky and Henry. And I can be up after today anyway. Things will be fine and if you all need me out there I can fly out Sunday."

"NO!" Emily snaps.

"Excuse me?" JJ snaps back, irritated.

Emily pinches the bridge of her nose. "I'm sorry, Jen. I just…remember when I went to Lancaster and that guy knocked me over. I want to wrap you in bubble wrap the next month but I know better. It just…scares me to think of you in the field right now."

"Get over it," JJ says softly. "Honey, I remember what happened to you. I remember hearing about what happened while I was in Afghanistan and you all were in Denver. I remember every bit of it as if it was tattooed on my brain. If I am pregnant, we'll work with Hotch to keep me as far out of the field as possible. But I will point out, I was pregnant with Henry and everything was fine. We'll have the whole team around us this time. Two won't be off in the Middle East. We will be fine."

Emily sighs. "Okay, you're right on all those points."

JJ smiles. "Still screwed up in your head?"

"No, my head gets it. It's my heart that is waging war within me. It's the one that came up with the bubble wrap idea."

JJ laughs. "I understand. I'll be okay, Em. You guys go out and catch the bad guy. I'll be here unless Hotch needs me out there, okay?"

"Okay. I love you, Jen. Take care of our little nesters. I'm ready for one of them to be our next little Prentiss."

"I am, too. If it's meant to be…"

"…it will be," Emily finishes. "I know, baby. Uh, the team is heading to the conference room. I'll call you when I can."

"Right. Good luck, honey."

Emily smiles. "You, too, sweetheart. Love you."

"I love you, too."

Emily hangs up and shoves her phone in her pocket. She grabs her tablet and goes up to the conference room for the briefing. Hotch looks at her as she walks in.

"All okay?"

Emily nods. "Fine. Jen said if we need her out there she can fly out Sunday."

Rossi rolls his eyes. "Heaven forbid she take the weekend off."

Emily grins. "Look, I know you all are almost as invested in this baby as we are but you have to trust us. I'll have the panic attacks and JJ will be the voice of reason. And the last thing I plan to do is coddle her or force her out of the field if she feels she can be there. I value my life too much to risk that."

Hotch nods. "Good point. Still, I think we can agree to do our best to only need her assistance long distance this time, right?" The team nods. "Good. So, now that that's settled, Garcia, what do we have?"

Garcia turns on the computer. "We have a series of escalating rapes in the Winslow, AR area."

Reid frowns. "That town is tiny! Less than 400 people in the 2000 census."

Morgan turns to him. "Are there any stats you DON'T read, man?"

The team smiles as Reid just shrugs. Garcia continues.

"The thing is, the women are being taken from other cities, the unsub takes them camping in Devil's Den State Park and then dumps them on the steps of a church in the wee hours of the morning on Monday. Police tried staking out the churches so the unsub dumped the eighth woman at the museum."

"Churches…great," Emily mumbles. She looks up from her tablet. "There couldn't have been many cars on the road at that time of night. The police didn't see anything?"

"No. According to the women he carried them to where he left them. He's a real outdoorsman type. They all said he was able to get fires going, catch and find food, a real minimalist. Only thing he packed in other than them is a few tools, a tent and a sleeping bag," Garcia explains.

"Same camp site every time?" Morgan asks.

"No. And each woman said he left the trail soon after they started into the park," Garcia answers.

Rossi shakes his head. "Still, this is a historically significant park. It's extremely poplar with campers, hikers, and even horse back riders. How does no one see anything?"

"Tourists," Hotch points out. "Too many people may see something and not realize it's linked to a series of attacks."

"Then we need to get word out to the tourists," Reid states. "They need to know to be on the lookout for a woman who doesn't seem to want to be with a man."

Emily frowns. "Why are they going with him? Why aren't they screaming for help? No way he can have them drugged if they are being marched through the woods to a remote, primitive site."

"True. Rossi, Reid we need to find out how he kept them from calling for help. Morgan, Prentiss, plan to go on a ride and hike tomorrow," Hotch says.

"Uh, what?" Emily asks.

"We have approximate sites of his camps based on bloodhound tracking. Horses will be made available to you and a deputy will lead you to each one via horseback. You need to profile those scenes. He had to know where he was taking them."

"How many sites?" she asks.

"Eight," Garcia answers.

"And, um, how long will this take?"

"Plan to spend the night out there," Hotch replies.

"In the WOODS?" Emily screeches.

Morgan busts out laughing. "What's the matter, Princess, never been camping before?"

"Does staying at a Swiss Chalet count? I mean, there were trees all around and no cooks or maid service."

Rossi laughs. "Oh, Emily, you are in for a treat."

Emily shakes her head. "Jen camped as a kid. Why the hell does this case come up now? Son of a bitch…"

"Wow…Emily Prentiss intimidated by something. Glad I have an eidetic memory so I won't forget this moment," Reid jokes.

Emily just glares at him. Hotch stands.

"Wheels up as soon as Prentiss and Morgan get back with their hiking and camping gear."

Morgan looks at Emily. "Do you have hiking gear?"

"I have boots."

"And camping gear?"

"I'm screwed if Jen doesn't have something."

Morgan laughs. "I'll call her to see if she has something for you. If not, I've got you covered."

Emily smiles. "Thanks, Derek."

He nods. "Anytime, Em."

"How will this affect your shoulder?"

"Let's just say I'll pack plenty of Aleve."

"Morgan, if you can't ride, I can go with the deputy alone."

"I'll be okay, Em. But thanks."

Emily nods and grabs her purse so she can go home to pack for a work-related camping trip.


	2. Chapter 2

JJ can't stop giggling.

"Oh, shut up," Emily grumbles as she stuffs a backpack with jeans, extra socks, extra underwear and a sweatshirt. She looks at her wife. "So, is this all I will need for camping out overnight?"

"Might want sweats to sleep in."

"Good point." Emily adds a pair of navy pants to the backpack she will be taking with her. "Hotch said we will both have a satellite phone and extra batteries. As soon as I know the numbers to them I will text you so you can reach me in an emergency. Otherwise…shit…I won't be able to call you tomorrow night."

JJ nods. "I know, Emily." She reaches out her hand. "Come here."

Emily walks over and sits on the edge of the bed. She entwines their fingers together. JJ uses her free hand to cup Emily's cheek.

"Emily, it may not be as far away or for as long as Afghanistan but I understand what you're feeling. It sucks to want to be able to call and check on things but not be able to."

"But this is different, Jen!" She runs a hand over JJ's stomach. "You were just impregnated and I am running off instead of sitting here- -"

"Controlling absolutely nothing about the baby situation," JJ interrupts. "Honey, here or there, it's all in God's hands now. I promise to do what I need to do to give the embryos a chance. You go out and catch the bad guy so the world is a slightly safer place for our child to be born into. Little Lima Bean #3 is counting on you."

Emily smiles and surprises herself by chuckling. "Okay, I'll go. But you can't stop me from pouting a bit tomorrow night when I can't talk to you or the kids."

JJ pretends to think about it. "Oh, okay. You can pout."

Emily laughs and leans forward to kiss her wife. "I love you, Jennifer. I will talk to you tonight."

"I love you, too."

Emily stands and slings the backpack onto her shoulder.

"Oh, Em! Uh, might want to take the bottle of Cryoderm. Your ass will be sore as hell tomorrow night."

Emily laughs and goes to the bathroom to get the liniment. "Good call. I knew I kept you around as more than an incubator."

"Watch it, woman," JJ says with a grin.

Emily gives her one more kiss then goes downstairs to say goodbye to her kids. As she hugs Henry, she runs a hand over his head.

"Tomorrow night I won't be able to call home, Champ. Think you can sing to Mommy for me to make her smile and not miss me too much?"

He nods. "Henry help." Then he frowns. "Who help Henry?"

"I told Mommy to read you an extra story."

Henry smiles. "'Kay, Mama." He hugs her. "Love Mama."

"I love you, too, Henry. Make sure to eat your vegetables."

Henry sighs. "'Kay, Mama. Henry eat."

"Good boy." She gives him another kiss then picks up Rocky. "You be a good girl. Listen to Aunty Francesca and don't go growing up on me, okay?"

"No!"

"I'll take that as an okay since you're smiling." She kisses and hugs her. "Love you, Rocky."

She sets the little girl back down and stands. She walks over to Francesca. "I'll text you the satellite phone numbers when I send them to Jen. And if you still can't reach me, call Pen."

"I will, cara. Go now and catch the bad man. All will be okay here."

"I know. Love you, Francesca," she gives the woman a kiss on the cheek.

"Love you, too, cara."

Emily grabs the sleeping bag she had gotten out of the basement earlier. She waves to the kids one more time then goes out to meet the team at Quantico.

* * *

On the plane, the team starts to read over the information that Garcia had compiled for them. Emily is reading the police reports of the victims and frowns after the third one. She quickly flips through the other 5 and looks up.

"I bet I know how he kept them from calling for help," she says.

Rossi and Hotch move from their seats near the front of the plane to the middle with the rest of the team. Hotch looks at her.

"What do you see, Prentiss?"

"All the women have young children. They were each taken soon after they would have dropped the child off at childcare or school."

Morgan nods in understanding. "So he threatens the child if she doesn't cooperate."

"Might even follow her a couple of days so he can show her just how much he knows about the child," Hotch notes.

"Why wouldn't they tell the police?" Reid asks.

"If he makes it clear he knows where she lives and, more importantly, where he can find her child or children, she'd be less likely to be completely honest with the police," Emily points out. "She wouldn't want to give him a reason to track down and harm her child."

"Then we need to speak to the women again and see if Emily is correct. Morgan, Emily you take the four victims in Fayetteville. Rossi, Reid the other four. We need this information tonight. Make sure they know we won't divulge that information to anyone outside of this team," Hotch orders.

"Not even the investigating officer?" Rossi confirms.

"Correct. If there is fallout from that decision it's on me but these women need to tell us everything and if they don't we will be handicapped in finding this man. I'll go ahead and drive up to Winslow to start that end of the investigation."

"What time are we meeting the deputy tomorrow?" Morgan asks.

"I'll find out when I get up there." Hotch stares at him. "Your shoulder?"

"It will be fine, Hotch. Riding western I just need my right hand to steer. As long as Emily doesn't decide to challenge me to a race I should be okay," he says with a grin.

"Damn. I never get to have any fun," Emily says with a pout. The team grins. "One other thing that is curious is the description of the rapist varies with each woman. Are they lying to further protect their child, is he doing something to disguise himself each time, or is their fear corrupting their memories."

"Even if he did something to change his looks, there should be some identifying mark that would stand out," Reid points out. "We need to find out what that is, be it a tattoo, scar or birthmark."

Rossi nods. "Agreed. Right now if it wasn't for the crime scene and the DNA it would be hard to link these cases together."

"There is one other thing that links them. All the women are brown-eyed brunettes," Hotch points out.

Emily never looks up from her paperwork. "Lose the 'gotta protect Emily' looks or I hurt you all," she threatens.

Rossi grins. "Turns out JJ isn't the only scary little lady on this team."

The team laughs and goes back to the paperwork as the plane winds its way to Fayetteville, AR.

* * *

JJ answers the phone and smiles. "I'm okay, Pen."

"I know. I just wanted to say I'm sorry I had to send them away," Garcia says sadly.

"It's okay. Emily gave me a rundown of the case. They need help out there. Too many cities involved means too many chances for missed clues to the identity of the unsub."

"Yeah, but not only is Emily gone while you're resting after the baby implantation but she'll be out in the woods tomorrow night. That just royally sucks, Jayje. Do you need me to come stay with you?" she offers.

"Thanks but no. Mom and Dad are coming to visit. Should be here by 5 or so since Dad took the afternoon off. I think they want to make sure I rest so they will definitely have another grandchild sooner rather than later. They want the full 6 soon," she jokes.

Garcia chuckles. "I don't blame them. You and your brother both make beautiful babies."

"Thanks," she replies sincerely.

Garcia thinks a moment. "Can I ask…do you want three because of…of Amy?"

JJ sighs as she considers the question. "Yeah, I do. I think that's why Mark wanted a third, too. I couldn't have survived the loss of Amy without Mark. We leaned on each other and could…could breakdown with each other in a way we couldn't with our parents. God forbid should something happen to one of our kids the others would need each other," she finishes quietly.

"I always wished for a sibling; especially after I lost my parents. I'm glad you're having lots of Prentiss babies."

JJ smiles. "I don't know about lots. Three may be the limit."

"Sure you say that now. But in a couple years Henry and Rocky will be in school, the Lima Bean will be toddling, and you'll think, 'Oh, I so want a little baby' and next thing we know you'll be full of little nesters again."

JJ laughs. "Keep thinking that, Garcia. Won't happen, but keep thinking it. I think three is the perfect number."

"Well, if you say so. Guess I need to go. Have a few bits of wisdom to impart to the team. If you need anything call me, Jayje."

"You got it, Pen. Good luck with the case. Love you."

"Love you, too. See ya, Jayje."

JJ clicks off the phone and smiles. Garcia may not have siblings by birth but as far as JJ is concerned she has a sister now.


	3. Chapter 3

When the team lands in Fayetteville they find 3 SUV's waiting for them. Hotch immediately starts the 30 minute drive up to Winslow. Reid and Rossi drive north to Bentonville to interview 2 women. They will then go to Rogers and Lowell before making their way towards Winslow.

Morgan drives to the first woman's house in Fayetteville. Emily reviews the file on her, even though both agents had read it over on the plane.

"Rebecca Mullins, age 35. Two kids, ages 3 and 5. Abducted after dropping the younger one off at day care. Never made it to work. By noon her husband had called the police but was told until she had been missing for 24 hours nothing could be done. Her car and purse were found in the parking lot at the office building where she works."

"So her purse was found but the police still thought she'd just taken off? That's ridiculous," Morgan gripes.

"Yeah but how many women do just that each year? She was the first victim so they had nothing to compare the story to," Emily notes.

"True. And with the second and third victim from other cities no wonder it took a while to call us in."

Emily nods. "And without the DNA hit in their state database they may never have linked them together." Emily closes the folder as Morgan pulls into the driveway. "Time to go pull off a scab. This part always sucks."

"Yeah, it does. But if we can bring her attacker to justice it will be worth it."

"Right."

The agents get out and slowly approach the house. They glance around, noting a normal, middle-class neighborhood. Plenty of cars are parked on the street so if the unsub did stalk his victims his car may not have been noticed by anyone. This is also an older neighborhood and there are plenty of shrubs and garden areas where he could have concealed himself to observe the woman. But a car is more likely as he would have then followed her to the day care center and to work.

"Too easy in this neighborhood," Morgan says. Emily nods, knowing exactly what he's thinking.

Emily rings the door and stands so she will be seen first. She sees someone step up to the peep hole.

"Who is it?"

Emily holds up her credentials. "Mrs. Mullins, I'm Emily Prentiss with the FBI. This is Derek Morgan. We'd like to speak with you about what happened at Devil's Den Park."

"I've already told the police everything," she says through the door. "Leave me alone. Please."

"Ma'am, I know how hard this is for you. This man has raped 7 other women. Please, help us stop him before he attacks another," Emily pleads.

"I…I can't. I'm sorry," the woman says dejectedly.

With nothing left to lose, Emily tries a gamble. "I know he threatened your child. I know he told you if you gave the police too much information he would come back and hurt your little boy. We won't let that happen. And when we put him in jail, he will never be able to follow through on that threat."

Emily and Morgan exchange a look. Had they gotten through to the scared woman? It takes a few minutes but the door finally opens. It had been nearly 4 months since the woman was attacked and it doesn't look like she had slept much in the intervening weeks. Emily gives her a sympathetic smile.

"Thank you, Mrs. Mullins."

"Can…can I see your badges again?"

Emily nods. "Of course."

Morgan and Emily hand the woman their badges. Mullins studies them carefully. She slowly hands them back. She steps back, allowing them into the house. In the living room, Mullins sits in the armchair as the agents take the sofa. Morgan sits back, allowing Emily to take the lead with the nervous lady. She walks the woman through some simple questions about the morning and the time leading up to the abduction.

"Mrs. Mullins, can you tell me how the man approached you?"

"I had just pulled into the parking lot at work. He walked up and held up a picture of me dropping off my son the day before. He said go with him or he'd make sure I never saw my son again." She takes a deep breath. "I started to scream and he held up a picture of our house. He then told me where I go for dry cleaning and to grocery shop. He'd been stalking me for a week and I had no idea," she whispers as tears roll down her face.

"Did he tell you his name?" Emily asks. The woman refuses to answer, just like she had in the police report. "Please, Mrs. Mullins," Emily implores.

The woman runs her hands over her face. "He made me call him…sir."

Emily nods, this leads her to think he is a power-reassurance rapist. "Did he make you praise him?"

The woman just nods. "He hurt me so badly but I had to tell him…it was…was…" she can't finish the statement.

Emily sits forward and reaches a hand out to the woman. "Mrs. Mullins, if he made other women say the same thing it will help convict him."

The woman bites her lip. She takes a deep breath. "He made me tell him he was better than my husband. And I had to tell him…when he made me…he…" she takes a breath to center herself. "He made me use my hand to…you know…and I had to tell him his was the most spectacular d…d…dick I'd ever felt."

"One last question: did he have any tattoos or scars or birthmarks that you can remember? Again, it could help convict him."

Mullins thinks a moment. Slowly she nods. "On his left thigh. A large mole about the size of a nickel. I stared at it when I was…with my hand…"

Emily nods. "I understand. Thank you so much for this information."

The woman stands. "Please…catch him. I can't sleep for fear he'll come back. I don't leave my house in case he's out there. I just…he stole my life, Agent Prentiss. Just…catch him."

The agents stand. Emily squeezes the woman's hand. "We'll do our best. Thank you for this new information. Mrs. Mullins, are you seeing someone? A psychiatrist?"

The woman shakes her head. "No. My husband doesn't believe in things like that."

"Don't do it for your husband. Do it for your son. Call a crisis hotline if nothing else. There is no shame in needing help to get past something like this. Please, call."

Mrs. Mullins slowly nods. "I'll…I'll think about it."

The agents go out to their SUV. Morgan pats Emily on the leg. "Good job, partner."

"Thanks. Now we know he's a power-reassurance rapist. I'll call Rossi to let him know."

Morgan nods and starts them towards the home of the fourth woman who was attacked.

* * *

Rossi hangs up his phone and glances at Reid. Reid, who had been leading the questioning of the second victim sits back so Rossi can take over.

"Mrs. Alloway, did your attacker make you call him something other than his name?"

The woman wrings her hands together. "I…I had to call him…sir."

"I see. And did he make you praise him in any way?"

The woman slowly looks up and makes eye contact for the first time. "How…how did you know?"

"You're his second victim. He has attacked at least 8 women that we know of. The more information we have about him, about his methods, the better the chances we convict him and put him away for a long, long time."

The woman sobs. The agents see her trying to turn fear into anger to cope with the questioning. "He made me say he was better than my husband. And…and he made…the motherfucker made me jerk him off! I had to say his fucking dick was the best I ever felt. I just wanted it to end. I wanted…wanted…to die."

"I can believe that. But you lived. Let us help you put this bastard behind bars," Rossi encourages. "Was there anything on him that made him stand out: a scar, tattoo, anything?"

"A mole. A huge, disgusting mole on his left thigh. I remember wanting to dig it out with my nails."

"I believe that, too. Is there anything else you may not have told the police? Anything that can help us find this man?"

The woman thinks carefully. "No, I think I…wait…he said something that struck me as strange. He said…he said he was worried his girlfriend would find out he was cheating on her. Made me promise not to tell her. What kind of woman dates a monster like that?"

Rossi sighs. "Sadly, he probably doesn't show that side to his girlfriend. He rapes women to try to control the dark side of his personality. Hopefully this information will help us to find him and stop him before he escalates his attacks."

Once the agents are in the SUV, Reid frowns at Rossi. "I know so far we've only followed up with 2 victims but he's established a pattern already. He's been doing this a long time."

"Yes, he has. I'll drive to the next house. You call Garcia and tell her to expand that DNA search nationwide."

Reid nods and pulls out his phone to get the tech searching out beyond the state of Arkansas going back 10 years.

* * *

When Hotch pulls up outside the police station he sees a man in a suit addressing a crowd of reporters. Hotch sighs.

"Damn I miss the days when I could just tell JJ to deal with it. Hell, I didn't even have to tell her. She just dealt with it."

He gets out of the SUV and makes his way to the edge of the press conference. The man is giving a perfect politician's smile to the cameras pointed at him.

"As mayor of Winslow, I assure you the city is working closely with both the state police and the state Fish and Game Department to track down the Devils Den Rapist. Rest assured we will find him and hold him accountable for his actions. He will pay the ultimate price for his attack on this revered park. Now, any questions?"

"Are you close to a break in the case?" a reporter yells.

"I feel confident there will be an arrest soon, yes. We already have a person of interest being questioned."

"Are you releasing a name?"

"Yes. His name is Oscar Underias. He's a known drunk and vagrant that has had run-ins with the law before."

Hotch stiffens. He hadn't been notified of that which probably means Garcia hadn't been notified. He pulls out his phone and sends her a text to see what she can find on this person of interest. He ignores the rest of the news conference, recognizing the man speaking is clueless about the true nature of the unsub and is only spreading bullshit.

As he walks into the city hall he sees a man in a state park uniform leaning against a wall. He immediately moves to him.

"Felix Bennett?"

The man hangs up and nods and extends his hand. "Agent Hotchner? Please tell me you know a trick to get that man out there to shut the hell up?"

Hotch grins, right away liking the ranger. "The only thing that can stop a politician on a mission is solving the case. I hope my team and I can do just that."

The ranger looks beyond Hotch. "Uh, is your team invisible?"

Hotch laughs. "No, they are re-interviewing victims. We use a cognitive interview that draws on sounds, scents, and other methods to elicit more information. They will all be down here later tonight. Is everything set for a ranger to take two of them out into the park this weekend?"

Bennett smiles. "Uh, sort of. We don't have rangers available to do something like this. I've arranged for a local woman, Anna Tripp, to take you. She grew up in this area and leads camping trips and pack rides for tourists. If anyone knows that park better than the rangers it's Anna. She even knows the places off trails that the rapist has used and other places he could use."

"Is she a sworn deputy or anything?"

"Nope. Civilian all the way. But we've used her many times when we've had lost hikers. Trust me, Agent Hotchner, if I was sending my own kids out there she is one of the only people I would trust to take them."

Hotch nods. "Very well then. So, where is the evidence for the case?"

"I've had it moved from here back to our office." He nods towards the front door. "You can imagine that there are too many people here trying to insert themselves into the investigation. There is an investigator from the state police named Maria Plant working with me. She has been coordinating with the police in the four towns where the victims were taken. She's real good. Just wants this bastard found."

"Good to know. And the suspect they are questioning?"

"Vietnam vet. He's a drunk and anti-social but he's no rapist. Just a guy who wants to be left the hell alone. He loves to hike the park. He probably knows it as well as Anna does."

"I thought that was probably a false lead. So, ready for the fireworks show?"

Bennett smiles. "Can't wait to see it."

Hotch turns and walks back out the doors. He sees, not to his surprise, the mayor is still speaking. He steps up behind him.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner of the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit." The mayor looks furious as the cameras turn away from him towards Hotch. "The state parks authority in conjunction with the state police have requested our help in tracking down the man attacking women in Devil's Den State Park. At this time, there is no credible suspect. Mr. Underias is simply being questioned because he is familiar with the topography of the park. His information could prove useful in finding and tracking the real rapist.

"At this time, I do request you stop referring to the unsub, meaning unknown subject, as the Devil's Den Rapist. At this time it is unclear whether he has struck in other places and narrowing the focus to one area could mean we lose valuable leads from the public. It could also drive him away from this area, unnecessarily endangering another community.

"From this point forward I will be handling the media surrounding this case. Any truthful information you want to print should be verified by me or be considered libelous, slanderous, or false. We will be working out of the state park office so as to better control the investigation. I will be sending out a press release with my contact information soon. At this time I will not be taking any questions. Thank you."

He walks down the steps, ignoring the questions yelled out by reporters and the screams of anger from the mayor. Climbing into his SUV he carefully drives out of the lot, noticing Ranger Bennett doubled over in laughter as he stares at the furious mayor.


	4. Chapter 4

By the time the team comes together that night around 6 Hotch has a conference room set up with the crime boards the way they like them, the four agents who had questioned the victims know their children were used to maintain compliance, and…Emily is nervous about the next night's camping trip. She and Morgan are getting a cup of coffee as she puts out a suggestion.

"Maybe if we wait until, say Sunday or Monday we won't need to see the sites?" Emily says to Morgan.

Morgan stares at her. "Emily Prentiss, what the hell has you so scared about sleeping outdoors?"

Emily answers, holding up a finger for each reason. "Snakes, rainstorm is expected, bats, spiders and sasquatch just to name a few things."

Morgan has to fight laughter as he can see she is serious. "Emily…sasquatch? Really?"

"There are reasons to believe he exists and I'd rather not rely on a piece of cloth to protect me from him," she says adamantly.

Morgan takes her hand and kisses the back of it. "I love you, you crazy woman. I promise: if we find proof that Bigfoot exists I will throw myself at it so you have time to get away."

She pulls her hand away. "Yeah, so you say now," she mutters. "Then some 7' tall furry creature confronts us and your ass will be running as fast as it fucking can to get away."

Morgan just laughs as Emily steps past him and walks towards the conference room. He finishes doctoring his coffee and follows her. Closing the door behind himself, he looks at Hotch.

"So, do we know if Bigfoot was seen by any of the women?" he asks seriously.

Emily glares at him. "You son of a bitch."

The team chuckles, immediately guessing Emily is still concerned about the next night. Reid smiles at Emily.

"If it makes you feel better the consensus has determined that Bigfoot, if he does exist, is a vegetarian since he has never attacked humans and no animals have ever shown signs of being beaten or attacked by a humanoid creature. Of course, if he completely devours his victims there would be nothing left to show."

Emily slowly swings her head around to look at the genius. "Not. Helping."

Hotch just shakes his head in amusement. "So tomorrow, Morgan and Emily, be here at 7 a.m. to meet up with Anna Tripp." He points to a package on a nearby chair. "Sat phones arrived earlier. Make sure they are fully charged as you won't find any outlets in the woods."

"Unless Bigfoot moonlights as an electrician," Rossi tosses in dryly.

"I really, really hate all of you sometimes," Emily mutters as the guys laugh.

Hotch just continues with the assignments. "Reid, I want a geographic profile of the victims. Rossi, you and I will be going over financials on the victims. Once we have victimology and know how the rapist found the victims we may be able to close in on a subject." He takes a deep breath. "For now, I want to leave JJ back in Virginia." Emily lets out a sigh of relief. "She can always assist us from Quantico if we need her to. Garcia has promised to come up with plenty for her to help with, including like crimes across the country."

"Thank you, Hotch," Emily says sincerely.

Hotch nods. "No thanks needed, Prentiss. The nearly identical, truthful, reports you four were able to elicit from the victims tell us he has been doing this a long time. There are more than these 8 women."

"Why hasn't he escalated?" Emily asks. "Why is he still letting women go? Women who have seen his face and, well, other parts?"

"That's bugging me, too," Rossi admits. "Can he really think his threats to their family are enough to keep them quiet?"

"Maybe he rapes a while and when the pressure gets too high he moves on," Reid theorizes. "Once Garcia pulls the like crimes we may see that pattern."

"Could be," Emily agrees.

"Or, this guy is a real survivalist. He could have beard growth, his weight might vary, his types of clothes, things that would alter his appearance enough to make a solid identification impossible," Morgan tosses out.

"All are good theories. Tomorrow, let's start hammering theories into fact and eventually into an arrest," Hotch says. He glances at his watch. "We'll call it a night for now. Let's get to the hotel."

* * *

As soon as she gets into the hotel room, Emily pulls out her phone and hits JJ's speed dial.

"Hey, baby," JJ answers.

"Hi, Jen," Emily says as she collapses onto the bed.

"How does it look?"

"Well, we know how he kept the women compliant and quiet. Now we just need to figure out who he is."

"Oh, so you should be home by lunch tomorrow, right?"

Emily chuckles. "Sure. Right." Emily takes a deep breath. "I really, really don't want to go camping tomorrow. The more I think about it the more scared I get. How fucked up is that, Jen? I have faced down gun runners, terrorists, murderers, rapists, all sorts of psycho's and I'm terrified of sleeping in a tent. Why am I such a wimp about this?"

"Sweetheart, you are not a wimp. Hold on just a second."

Emily sighs and drums her fingers nervously on her thighs as she hears JJ's muffled voice. A second later she hears a voice that makes everything better.

"Hi, Mama! Mama Batman! Nothing scares Batman!" Henry chirps.

Emily smiles. "Hey, Champ. A few things scare Batman."

"Nope. Batman brave. Mama Batman so Mama brave and no scared. Mama Henry hero."

Emily tears up a bit. "I'm glad I can be your hero, Henry. And even happier I'm your Mama. I love you, Henry."

"Love Mama."

"Are you enjoying the visit from Grandma and Grandpa?"

"Si, Mama. Gwan and Pop bring pre'ents for Henry and Wok."

"They did? You two are lucky. What did you get?"

"Henry gots a stuffed Mater and Wok got a' Eeyore."

"Cool! I can't wait to see them when I come home."

"You can play with them," he offers kindly.

Emily smiles. "Thanks, Champ. Did you eat your vegetables tonight?"

"Si, Mama. Had cawfor."

Emily thinks…cawfor…cawfor…cawfor…? Then it hits her. "Ah! Cauliflower is one of my favorites."

"Henry, too," he agrees.

"Well, I need to speak with Mommy again, Champ. I won't be able to call tomorrow because I'll be out chasing down the bad man. Can you give Mommy an extra hug for me tomorrow?"

"Si, Mama. And Wok and Ska, too."

Emily chuckles. "Good. I knew I could count on you, Henry. I love you."

"Love, Mama."

A few seconds later Emily hears her wife. "Em?"

"Yeah, Jen. Thank you. I think he said all the right things."

"Good. Because I would hate to think you spent a sleepless night out there worried about Bigfoot."

Emily groans. "I hate Morgan and Garcia."

JJ chuckles. "Funny, I was thinking just how much I love them."

"Sasquatch just kind of popped out. My other fears are valid but I will face them if only so my son continues to think I'm brave like Batman and not scared like some soccer player or something," she finishes with a sly grin.

"Watch it, woman," JJ teases. "But, seriously, are you going to be okay?"

"I should be. I honestly don't think it's really being out in the woods that bugs me. It's being so hard to reach if you need me."

"Emily, I will be okay. I'm already up and around. And you will be out of the woods before we start to see signs whether or not the IVF worked. I'm okay, Emily," she reiterates. "So are the little nesters so far."

"I know, baby. Well, my head does at least. My heart is still fighting me."

JJ smiles. "Your heart is a stubborn organ."

"Yes, yes it is." Emily glances at the clock. "I hate to do this, but I need to get my pack ready for tomorrow and get a bite to eat. I could call you back later."

JJ knows her wife needs the call. "That will work. Let me help Mom get Henry to bed. Call whenever you want; I'll wait up for you."

"Thanks, Jennifer. I'll talk to you soon. I love you."

"I love you, too."

A couple hours later Emily calls to say goodnight to her wife. It is a short conversation; just enough to settle her mind enough to allow her to sleep so she is well rested before heading out into the wilderness with Morgan and Anna Tripp.


	5. Chapter 5

Morgan and Emily go to the start of the horse trails to meet up with their guide for the weekend. As she gets out of the SUV, Emily stretches. Though she still has some trepidation about camping out she is actually looking forward to the riding portion of the experience. She smiles as she gets the first whiff of horse on the morning breeze.

"What's that grin for, Princess?" Morgan asks.

Emily shrugs. "Just looking forward to riding again. It's been a lot of years."

"I guess you rode a lot as a kid?"

Emily nods. "Rode hunter-jumpers from the time I was 4."

Morgan's eyes widen. "Wow! How did I not know this?"

"Guess it just never came up. Jen didn't know until we went to France."

"Why did you stop?"

Emily thinks back to the summer she had lost interest in a lot of things. Morgan sees her eyes darken and wishes he hadn't asked.

"Em…you don't have to say…"

"It was teenage stuff. Maybe…another day I can tell you."

He nods. "Fair enough."

As they get their packs and sleeping bags out of the back of the SUV a trim, petite blonde woman walks over to them.

"I'm going to venture a guess that the guns and handcuffs mean you are the agents I'm taking into the wilderness."

Morgan smiles at her. "You would guess right." He extends his hand. "Derek Morgan. This is Emily Prentiss."

Emily shakes hands with the woman, noting she is beautiful and sporty and so very much her type. Hopefully Jen would be past any hormonal stage when she hears who Emily is spending the night with.

"Anna Tripp. Got your horses over here. You can put your sleeping bags on the pack horse. Luckily with the path I've mapped out for us we should be staying at one of the studio cabins. Not a lot of privacy but full kitchen, bed linens, etc."

"So wait a second, why are we taking sleeping bags then?" Emily asks.

"Well, I'd rather be safe than sorry. If the storm hits this afternoon the way it predicted we may not make it to the cabins. If we can't find a cave to bunker in we'll be in a tent tonight."

"Great. A tent in a storm. I can't think of _anything_ that sounds safer except maybe diving with great white sharks while dressed like a sea lion in blood filled water," Emily grumbles.

As Emily walks past them, Morgan looks at Anna.

"I swear she's usually more personable than this. She's just worried about running into Bigfoot out there."

"MORGAN!" Emily hollers at him.

Anna chuckles. "Don't worry, Agent Prentiss, I haven't seen any sign of him in these woods."

Emily just grunts and walks over to the horses. Anna and Morgan, still chuckling, join her. Anna starts to attach the sleeping bags to the pack horse.

"So, do you two have experience riding?"

Emily nods. "I rode English for many years. Been a while though."

"I've been on a horse once in my life. Didn't end well for either of us," Morgan admits.

Anna smiles. "Not good. Okay, Agent Prentiss you can ride- -"

"Uh, before we go on, call me Emily. And you can call him Morgan."

Anna nods. "Emily it is. Emily, you can ride Pilsy. He's got a good temperament and an even gait. I do ask that you remember not to post if he gets into a trot."

Emily grins. "Right. Stand in the saddle. I do remember that from a trail ride once."

"Good. Morgan, you can ride Atom. He's not exactly, uh, well, let's just say he's not likely to just pop into a trot. It would take more energy than he likes to expend."

Morgan laughs. "Okay. But if anyone asks, can you tell them I was on a fiery thoroughbred?"

Anna winks at him. "You got it. So, any last questions before we set out for the first site?"

"Got an extra pillow for the saddle?" Morgan asks.

"Ooo, sorry. I knew I forgot something," she jokes.

Morgan shrugs. "Then I say let's get going."

He turns to offer Emily a leg up but is impressed to see her already mounting up. By the time he turns back to Anna she is also in the saddle.

"Waiting for an engraved invitation, Morgan?" Emily teases.

He just chuckles and pulls himself into the saddle, wincing a bit as it pulls at his shoulder. Emily raises an eyebrow at him.

"Okay?"

He nods. "Be fine. Let's get rolling."

The group sets out, aiming to make it to the first campsite in just over an hour.

* * *

Reid is plotting points on a map of Fayetteville: homes, abduction sites, location of the threatened child, grocery stores, dry cleaners, cafes, anyplace the unsub had used to scare his victims into compliance. He steps back and frowns.

"It's too big. They are too spread out," he says softly to himself. There were too many women from Fayetteville to help him narrow down how the unsub first finds his targets.

He goes to the table and grabs the maps of Lowell, Rogers and Bentonville. He tapes them to the wall and starts with Bentonville since 2 women from that town were attacked. He starts to plot the points of importance. Again he sees the same spread.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing that shows a comfort zone. Nothing to show why he chose these women."

He pulls out his phone. "Garcia, is there anything in the backgrounds of these women that connect them? Anything at all?"

Garcia sighs. "Nothing that I can find. I've checked church groups, civic groups, where they went to school but the only things that links them is they have kids, are brown-eyed brunettes, and they were attacked by this unsub."

"What about…about…shit…" he thinks for a minute. "What about the schools and day cares for the kids. Is there anyone that worked in all the places?"

Garcia starts to type, "I need time to cross check those. Will hit you back when I have an answer."

"Great. Thanks, Garcia," Reid says and disconnects.

Though he doesn't think it will help, he goes ahead and plots the points in Lowell and Rogers for those victims. He steps back and stares at the two towns for a minute. It's still a lot of nothing. Suddenly he stiffens.

"It's a lot of nothing! That's it! He stalks these women at least a week. He's either self-employed or unemployed. And if he knows the park that well, I bet Underias has seen him." He whips out his phone. "Hotch? I think we need to speak with Oscar Underias. If he knows the park as well as Bennett said he may have seen something and not realized it."

* * *

It is actually 8:30 when Anna signals Morgan and Emily to stop. She looks over her shoulder and nods up the hill beside them.

"Campsite is at the top of that deer trail. I'll wait down here with the horses." She reaches down and pulls a machete out of a sheath on her saddle. "In case the underbrush is grown up." She grins. "Works on Bigfoot, too."

Emily rolls her eyes. "Yet another smartass blonde in my life. I'm cursed."

Morgan laughs and takes the machete. "Thanks."

The two agents start the climb. A rainstorm a couple days before had dampened the underbrush and the overgrowth had kept it from drying in the late summer heat. By the time they reach the top of the hill they are wet and muddy.

"Yeah…if Jen asks me to go camping with her I'm asking for a divorce," Emily grumbles.

"You are just a ray of sunshine, Princess," Morgan says, shaking his head.

The two stand at the edge of the clearing, catching their breath and observing the site. Emily sees something and moves towards it. She shakes her head as she lifts up a bra that had obviously been cut off victim number 5. Emily pulls an evidence bag out of her back pocket and places the bra inside.

"Doubtful anything of use left on it but you never know," she points out. Morgan just nods.

"He would definitely have to know he was bringing them here. I didn't even see that deer trail until Anna pointed it out."

"Me neither. But it doesn't look like he's been here since then." She points to some shrubs. "There's fresh growth there and the trail was overgrown, too. Morgan, if he sticks to pattern, he'll take a woman next weekend. Unless he has a ninth site, he may be prepping one of these places for that attack."

Morgan nods. "True. I think we can safely say this one isn't his next camp."

"Unless we're early. Shit." She lifts off her FBI cap and runs a hand over her head. "Too many what ifs. But here's the big question: what the hell does this site tell us about him other than what we knew already?"

Morgan slowly looks around. Finally he shrugs. "I have no idea what it tells us. Let's hope to hell one of these campsites tells us something otherwise this is a pointless waste of time."

Emily just nods. "And our asses will be saddle sore for no damn reason."

The two agents make their way back down the hill and saddle up for the trek to the next site on the map.

* * *

Just after 10 a.m. Rossi and Reid are ushered into the house of Oscar Underias. For a man with a rather unkempt appearance his home is the definition of military tidiness. He gestures to his couch as he sits in his recliner. He sits back but doesn't lay it back. He studies the two men in front of him much like they are studying him.

"Mr. Underias, my name is Dr. Spencer Reid with the FBI. This is Supervisory Special Agent David Rossi. We understand you- -"

"Did you serve?" he interrupts Reid while staring at Rossi.

Rossi nods. "I did. Nearly came back in a pine box a couple times."

"Hmph. Didn't we all. Sometimes…sometimes I wish I had."

"If you really wished that you wouldn't be sitting here talking to us. You'd have eaten your gun or slit your wrists," Rossi says matter-of-factly. "But you're here and willing to talk to us because the one place in the world that gives you solace is being turned into a place to torture women. And I don't think you like that one bit."

"No, I don't. But what the hell can I do about it?"

Rossi leans forward, his arms resting on his knees. "Tell us what you saw. Tell us who makes you wish you still had your old gun so you could clean him out the way you cleaned out the enemy back in country."

Underias stares at Rossi. He slowly turns to Reid. "What kind of doctor are you, kid?"

"Academic, sir."

Underias grunts a laugh. "Don't call me 'sir', boy. I was a sergeant not some officer more worried about ribbons and commendations."

"Uh, right. Uh, Mr. Underias, is there anything you can tell us that can help us track down this man and stop him?"

Underias studies Reid a moment. Finally he nods. "Yeah, I can tell you a few things."

* * *

At noon Emily and Morgan have just finished looking over the second camp site when Morgan's satellite phone rings.

"Morgan," he answers.

"Morgan, we have information for you," Reid says with a rapid fire delivery.

"Lay it on me, Pretty Boy."

"Whoever is kidnapping these women preps the camp sites the week before which means he is probably in the park with you right now. He's a survivalist and he _does_ change his looks each time so that's why there is confusion regarding his appearance. But one thing that doesn't change is he leaves a sign at the site that he plans to use. It's almost a ritualistic sort of thing."

"Ritualistic? Could he be Native American?"

"Possibly. He's got a dark complexion so it could be part of his heritage."

Nearby, Emily notices Anna stiffen when Morgan asks about the unsub being Native American. Could it be their guide has seen the unsub and not realized it? She'll wait until Morgan is done before asking.

"One other thing to look for is the deer or animal path having been trimmed back just enough to give him room if he has to drag a woman with him but not enough to be obvious."

"Does he ever use the same place twice?"

"Not that Sergeant Underias has noticed but that's not to say he wouldn't."

"Right. We'll we've just finished at the second site on our trip. I'll let our guide know to watch for possible trails that have been widened. Emily and I may not notice them as quickly as Anna will."

"Okay. If we find out anything more we'll be in touch. Is there anything you all know so far that can help us?"

Morgan sighs. "Only that the unsub cares more about the park than he does about women. He tidies up the camp before he leaves, he breaks up his fire ring, only thing we found was a torn bra and considering where it was found he may have missed it by accident."

"Okay. Garcia is still searching for like crimes. Scarily there are a lot. JJ is going to go into the office tomorrow to help her weed through them."

Morgan slides a glance at Emily, which makes the brunette narrow her eyes. "Right. I'll let Emily know. Talk to you later, Reid."

"Right. Be safe. Oh, and there's a bad storm coming. Tornado watches have been issued."

"Yeah, Anna has a weather alert radio. She knows a couple places we can shelter if we don't reach the cabin."

"Good to know. Take care, Morgan."

"Thanks, Reid." He hangs up and looks at Emily. "Garcia has found a rather large number of potential like crimes. JJ is going to the office tomorrow to help her weed through them."

Emily's jaw clenches. "Yeah. Okay. That's fine."

"Emily…"

"Don't, Morgan. I don't know why I'm being such an ass about this but I have to get over it. Just…give me space."

She goes and mounts up, forgetting that Anna had seemed to recognize something about the unsub. Morgan glances at Anna and shrugs. The guide and agent also mount up so they can try to get to the third campsite before the drizzle that had started becomes a downpour.


	6. Chapter 6

"Need another lemonade, Sports Star?"

JJ smiles at her father. "No thanks, Dad."

He sits down beside her. "What are you looking at?" he asks, looking at the laptop sitting on the coffee table.

"Storms heading towards the area Emily and Morgan are investigating. They are on horseback and are supposed to be camping out overnight."

His eyes bulge at the nasty radar picture. "Camping there?" he confirms.

"Yep. And Emily has never camped out in her life. Something tells me this trip won't make her crave a repeat trip."

Alan chuckles. "Probably not. But hopefully the rain will keep Bigfoot cooped up and not on their trail."

JJ laughs. "Poor Em. She'll never live that slip down. Well, at least not until one of us says something equally as silly."

"Does she know you plan to go into the office tomorrow?"

"I don't know for sure. I mean, she knew it was a possibility but I don't know if she's been in contact with the team to find out it's now reality."

He kisses his daughter's temple. "Well, with your mother flying to New Orleans with Henry Monday she's got plenty to worry about."

JJ frowns. "Why would she be worried about that?"

Alan chuckles. "Your mother and her best friend in the Big Easy for a week unattended? Honey, even I am worried about that!"

JJ laughs. "Uh, good point. At least it's not Mardi Gras so Mom won't be flashing her boobs." She pauses a second. "Probably."

"Give her a few hurricanes and she might!" he jokes.

"Who might what?" Sandy asks as she walks into the room.

JJ and her father exchange a look and start to giggle. Sandy raises an eyebrow.

"On second thought, never mind. I don't want to know," she says as she sits down on the love seat.

"Henry fall asleep okay?" JJ asks.

Her mother shrugs. "He was a bit fussy. He doesn't understand why you can't play with him or pick him up right now."

JJ frowns. "Damn. After he gets up from his nap I need to spend some time with him. Do you all mind watching Rocky?"

"Jenny, how can you even ask that," her father scolds.

JJ shakes her head. "Right. Sorry. Guess I'm a little emotionally flipped this weekend."

Alan pats her leg. "I think we can understand that." He pulls her into a hug. "Jenny, you know things could take time, right? You know Emily getting pregnant the first time was a chance in a million, right?"

JJ nods. "I know. Do you realize I didn't mean to get pregnant with Henry? I wouldn't trade him for the world but he wasn't planned. I guess I kind of can't help but think, well…what if later in life he resents that Em and I chose to have his siblings but he was a wonderful accident?"

"He won't think that, honey," Sandy says. "He will never, ever doubt how much he is loved by you or Emily or anyone in this family. Planned or not, he was meant to be with us. God doesn't make mistakes, Jenny."

JJ smiles. "I hadn't thought of it that way." She chuckles. "Emily and I were talking about him the other night. It is completely adorable that he speaks of himself in the third person."

"Yes, it is," Alan agrees.

"We kind of wonder when that will end. And his minor issues with the letter 'R' are still a concern. But the thing is, we love him so much those little faults are endearing. Don't get me wrong, we'll help him correct his speech but for now we're just enjoying those little things that make him 'Henry', you know?"

"Yes, we know," Sandy tells her. "Jenny, he won't love you less because there is another child. Trust me when I say there may be some growing pains and there will definitely be a LOT of vying for your attention, but there is no way any child in this house will ever think they aren't loved."

JJ nods. "I know," she replies, choked up. She takes a deep breath. "I can't speak for Mark but I know I never felt you loved him or Amy more than you loved me. Even after…when things were…" she shakes her head. "I never felt your love for me waned. I hope you both know that."

Alan tightens his hug. "We know, Sports Star. We know."

JJ just sighs, relaxing into her father's embrace. Sometimes a girl just needs reassurance from her parents, no matter how old she is.


	7. Chapter 7

Emily wipes her arm across her face…then realizes it is futile since her FBI windbreaker is just as wet as her face. The rain is a torrential downpour with high winds and thunder and lightening closing in on them.

"I hate the outdoors," she grumbles as she dismounts at the fourth campsite on their tour of the wilderness.

"Prentiss! Look at this!" Morgan calls.

Emily walks over and looks at the small symbol drawn with sand on the ground in the shelter of a shrub. This had been the eighth attack site and though the wind and rain had done damage it is still recognizable as paw print of some sort. Emily frowns.

"What is it?"

Morgan shrugs. "I don't know. But Reid said Underias claims the unsub marks the place he plans to use. I'd say this was a way to mark it."

"I didn't notice it at the other si- -" her words break off as she turns her head to see the stricken look on Anna Tripp's face. She suddenly remembers the woman tensing up as Morgan spoke with Reid earlier. Emily steps closer to the blonde. "You know who did this," the profiler states.

Anna slowly turns from the symbol to Emily. "I…I don't…I mean, maybe…it is…it might…"

Emily steps closer to her. "Anna, what do you know?"

The woman shrugs, obviously torn about saying anything. Emily steps up and grabs her by the shoulders.

"Eight women that we know of, Anna. Eight women have been brutalized, raped and terrorized by this man. What do you know about him? Who is he, Anna?"

"What if…if I'm wrong?"

"What if you're not?" Emily counters.

Before Anna can answer, her weather alert radio starts to sound an alarm. She grabs it and hits a button on it. The agents and guide listen as the announcer warns of a tornado spotted in the Devils Den Park area. Anna looks around and sees the horses are getting agitated. She pulls away from Emily.

"Grab your horse but don't mount up. That tornado is too close and they'll spook easily. If they do, let them run. Grab your packs." When the agents are showing no signs of listening she yells at them. "NOW!"

Emily and Morgan run and grab their packs from where they had dropped them. Anna pulls her own off the pack horse and starts to lead them all down the trail they had climbed. Suddenly thunder cracks and lightening strikes a nearby tree. Emily's horse rears up as branches rain down upon them.

"WHOA! EASY, PILSY! WHOA, BOY!"

But the horse is wide-eyed in fright. He rears up and Emily has no choice but to let him go. He takes off down the path, Morgan's horse right behind him. Emily turns back to her partner.

"DEREK?"

He is clutching his bad arm. "Fine. Mostly. Shit."

Anna tries to calm her two horses. Emily races towards her to try to help but the guide finally just lets them go.

"You okay?" Emily asks her.

Anna nods. "Yeah. Come on. There's a cave not too far from here." She nods towards Morgan. "He okay?"

Emily turns and sees him walking towards them, still clutching his arm to his body. "He will be. Lead on."

It takes them twenty minutes fighting the wind and the mud to get to the cave Anna had told them about. As they get inside they all collapse to the ground, gasping for breath. After a couple minutes, Emily moves to Morgan's side.

"It's out of socket again, isn't it?" He just nods. "Shit, Morgan." She turns to Anna. "We need to get it back in place or he could suffer permanent nerve damage."

"I…I don't know how."

"I do. Get over here."

Emily helps Morgan get his jacket off. She then looks at Anna.

"I need you to sit behind him. Wrap your legs around his waist and hold him steady. It's going to hurt like hell so you need to hold him tight, understand?"

"Yeah. Got it."

Emily takes off her belt and offers it to Morgan to bite on. He can't help but smile.

"What, can't spare a bullet for me to bite?"

Emily grins. "Hell no. We may have to hunt for food."

Anna gets settled behind him. Emily looks to her, waiting for Anna to signal she is ready. Finally the guide feels she is as ready as she can be and nods to Emily. Emily looks into Morgan's eyes.

"Hold on, buddy."

She manipulates the arm a little, wincing as he moans in pain. When she feels the positions of the ball and socket she swallows.

"Here we go. On three. One. Two."

And before she gets to three, she yanks and jerks. Morgan clamps down on the belt in his mouth and Anna tightens her hold on him as Emily works the arm back into place. Finally she eases him arm back to his chest.

"Okay, Derek. All done. Anna, hold his arm there while I fashion a sling for him."

"Yeah, fine. Uh, there's a bandana tied to my pack. It's wet but it will work."

"Good."

Emily fetches the cloth and soon a makeshift sling holds Morgan's arm in place. Anna slides out from behind him and goes to her pack.

"There's dry wood in here. I'll get a fire going."

Emily just nods. "I'll get you some Aleve, Derek. What the hell did you do?"

"Wasn't thinking. Horse reared and I grabbed the reins with both hands. He jerked away and took my shoulder with him."

"Shit, Derek."

"I'll be okay, Em."

"You better be. I'd hate to have to kick your ass for getting hurt on my watch," she says with a forced grin.

He smiles and relaxes back against the rock. Emily goes to her pack and digs out the Aleve and a bottle of water. She glances over at Anna, who is getting a fire going.

"Need any help?"

"Not yet." She glances up shyly. "It was a wolf paw print."

Emily looks up from repacking her bag. "What?"

"The sand picture. It was a wolf paw print. He thinks he might be part Native American and the wolf is his totem. He dreamed of a wolf four times which makes it his spirit guide."

"Who is he, Anna?"

She swallows and looks away in shame. "He's…he's my boyfriend. Sort of. I mean, we date and stuff but we're so busy and he's always on…he goes…" she starts to cry.

Emily bites her lip a moment. "Let me get Morgan settled and we can talk. No matter what, Anna, this is _not_ your fault." Emily moves over to Morgan. He had heard the conversation. "Here, buddy, take a couple and drink the water. We'll scrounge up something to eat in a minute, okay?"

"Emily, we need to find out who the horses will return to; who will come after us," he whispers.

"Shit," she mutters. "Rest, buddy. I got this, okay?"

He just nods and takes the pills, hating that he may not be able to back her up if the unsub becomes their rescuer. Emily goes back over to Anna. The woman has pulled a metal cup out of her pack and is holding it out of the cave to fill it with rain water. Emily sees three packages of soup on the ground.

"I only have one cup so we'll have to take turns eating but we need to warm up. If you two have dry clothes we need to get you changed and try to dry these soaked clothes," Anna says, taking charge of their health and well-being.

Emily grabs Morgan's pack and sees he had also packed a pair of sweatpants. She pulls them out along with a pair of socks and walks back over to him.

"Morgan, we need to get you out of those jeans and socks. You need to get dry and warm."

He just nods, a chill settling in. The shivering is causing his arm to ache terribly. Emily pulls off his boots and socks. He gives her a cheeky grin.

"So, wait until JJ hears you helped me get naked in the wilderness."

"Yeah…she'll kill you. She'll just hurt me."

He chuckles and nods. "True."

Emily helps him stand and get his jeans off. Once he is in the sweats he sits back down and Emily puts on the dry socks.

"Need your sweatshirt?" she asks.

"Not yet. Fire feels good."

Emily nods. "Yeah, it does. Looks like your dinner is about ready, too."

As he starts to nod there is a tremendous crash heard outside. They turn and see trees bent over in the wind. A large one had snapped off and fallen on the path they had walked up. Morgan shakes his head.

"Damn. We got here just in time."

"Yeah." Emily turns back to him. "If anyone ever tells me how much fun camping is promise me you'll confiscate my service weapon."

Morgan laughs. "Deal, partner."

With Anna making dinner for Morgan, Emily grabs one of the satellite phones and moves as close to the cave mouth as she dares. She dials Hotch's number but gets a busy signal.

"Won't go through until the storm passes," Anna tells her.

"Yeah, I figured. Thought I'd try anyway." Emily walks over and sits down across the fire from the guide. "Anna, who will find the horses?"

"Horses have an innate sense of direction. They will start back to their barn. But horses are also herd animals. If they sense safety with other horses they may stop before getting home."

"Which means what?"

Anna sighs. "If they make it home, Chase will find them and come after us. He is a great tracker and even after all of this he'd be able to find us." She stretches her neck. "If they stop at the ranch I'm thinking of, the owners will call the Rangers and they'll come after us."

Emily nods. "Okay." She takes the cup of soup Anna hands her and walks it over to Morgan. "Eat up, buddy."

"I will. You get changed."

Emily nods. "I will. Just wanted to get you settled first. You whine too much if you're uncomfortable."

He just chuckles and starts to eat the chicken noodle soup. Emily walks over to her pack and pulls out her sweat suit. Soon she is in dry pants and the warm, dry shirt. Dry socks make her feel almost toasty warm as she sits by the fire. Once Anna is changed she retrieves the now empty cup from Morgan and concentrates on making Emily's dinner, the profiler continues her questioning.

"How did you meet Chase?"

Anna sighs as she realizes she can't duck the inevitable questions. "We met about 5 months ago when he moved to the area. He's from Canada and said he wanted to get away from the cold winters. We met on the trails. God, he was so…so outdoorsy and manly and…and I fell for him. He was kind of mysterious, too. But he knew so much about the woods up north. He told me incredible stories of where he grew up."

"Were they true?" Emily interjects.

"Yeah, I think they are. He really knows his shit out here, you know? You can't fake that. He said he was learning the trails so he could be a paid guide but that he preferred to go off trail for his own personal trips." She shrugs. "I do, too. Even took him to a couple of places where I'd found natural breaks in the woods to set up camp." She runs a hand over her face. "Guess he found at least 8 others. He finally got a job leading survivalist-style trips."

"We don't know for sure it's him."

"I do. That symbol? First time we went camping he pulled out a little cloth bag of sand and drew it on the ground. Said he was honouring his spirit guide so that it would keep us safe. He told me all sorts of stories of Native American lore. He's an orphan and not really sure of his background but he says he feels such a connection to the land he is sure he is Ojibwa or Cree."

Emily nods. "Canadian tribes. Damn," she whispers, realizing Garcia's like crimes search may turn up empty if he started killing in another country. Hopefully the gifted analyst and the love of Emily's life will reach beyond the U.S. the next day if the initial search turns up dead ends.

"Why is he so good to me if he's doing these things? Why does…does he rape them when…when I am…was willing to have sex with him?"

Emily sighs. It's never easy to explain something so horrible to someone. "It's as if he is two people. To you he is the kind, outdoorsy, nice guy he lets you see. But inside him is the monster. He's a power-reassurance rapist which is not uncommon for someone who grew up feeling inadequate in some ways. If he was an orphan who felt distanced or ostracized from both the Native Americans and the Canadian cultures he needs to control these women and make them praise him to give himself a sense of importance. Nothing you could do for him would satisfy that need."

Anna wipes away tears as she finishes making Emily's soup. "I thought he was my soul mate. I don't know him at all, do I?"

Emily sighs. "You know who he wants you to know." She accepts the soup from Anna. "Anna, if he comes for us tomorrow, you have to act cool. Give him a hug, a kiss. Out here we have no chance to protect ourselves. He needs to believe that everything is okay."

"How the fuck do I do that?" Anna sneers in shock.

"You do it to save your life, our lives and the lives of women who will be attacked by him if he gets away."

Anna stares at her a minute then shakes her head. "I…I can't. I'm not…not brave like you."

"You spend your life in this park, in these woods. Don't let him destroy the things you have come to love. Help us stop him, Anna. Cleanse these woods with your actions."

Anna says nothing, just starts to fiddle with her packet of soup. She glances out the cave entrance. The storm still rages outside, mirroring the one in her heart.

Emily finishes the soup and hands Anna back the cup. She looks over and sees Morgan has dozed off. She gets up and walks over to him, grabbing her pack as she goes.

"Come on, Derek, let's use your pack and mine to prop you up so you can sleep without pain."

"Emily, I'll be okay. Use your pack as a pillow."

"Stop being hardheaded I'm tired enough to just knock your ass out," she says with a grin.

He chuckles and allows her to help him get settled. She pulls a thermal blanket out of a side pocket and covers him up.

"Thanks, Em."

"You'd do the same for me."

He nods. "In a heartbeat."

Emily grabs a thermal blanket for herself and goes back to her place near the fire. She settles back against the wall. Knowing the unsub could be the one that comes to rescue them she sighs.

_"Suddenly Bigfoot doesn't seem so scary_," she thinks to herself. She closes her eyes, hoping to get a little sleep. "_I love you, Jen, Henry and Rocky,_" is her last thought before she manages to doze off, the cave a more comfortable pillow than she would have believed.

Or maybe that was just exhaustion speaking.


	8. Chapter 8

As Saturday had gone on Rossi, Hotch and Reid had delved deep into the financial backgrounds of the victims. They are so caught up in the information it startles them when the lights in the room they are using flicker. Reid stands and moves to the window.

"The storm has gotten really bad," he says quietly.

Hotch and Rossi step up beside him. The sky is black even though it is mid-afternoon. Trees whip back and forth in the wind and the rain is coming down so hard they can barely see across the parking lot. Hotch turns from the window and hurries out into the main office.

"Bennett, what's the weather situation?"

Bennett sighs. "Tornado watches and warnings all over the area. Hotch…the epicenter of the cell is right over Devils Den Park."

Hotch whips out his cell phone and tries to call each satellite phone but there is no answer. Bennett shakes his head.

"You won't reach them. Until this storm clears you won't have a chance. And if it takes down any cell towers you'll have even more issues."

Hotch slams his phone back into his pocket. "Great. How long will this last?"

"Tornado watches are in effect until 10 tonight for the area. My guess is by now Anna's gotten them to ground. They won't have reached the cabin so they'll probably hold up in a cave until morning. She knows several and she and Chase keep them stocked with dry wood just in case."

Hotch frowns. "Who's Chase?"

"Chase Clarkson. He's Anna's boyfriend and another guide here in the area. He does a lot of those survivalist trips. You know, suit and tie guys looking to reactivate their caveman gene."

Hotch nods. "I understand. He's a local, too?"

"He is now. Moved here a while back from up north. Canada somewhere, I think."

Hotch's eyes narrow. "How long ago is a while back?"

Bennett shrugs. "I don't know…6, 8 months ago maybe. But he's good people, Hotch. In fact, if we can't reach Anna once the storm clears he's the man I'd want looking for them."

"I see. What about Underias? He seems to know the park really well."

"True. But he's not exactly…social. I respect his privacy because of his service to our country but he isn't one to put his neck out on the line for others anymore. And after the way he was treated when he came back from 'Nam I don't blame him a bit."

Hotch nods. "Right. Well, if you hear anything more about the storms, let me know." Hotch makes his way back into the room the team is using. He closes the door and grabs the phone on the table. "Garcia? I need you to run a search on a Chase Clarkson from Canada. Moved here in the last year. And extend your like crimes search across the border."

"Uh, okay. That will take a little, um…" she trails off, letting the hint of illegal hacking get her point across to keep Hotch from okaying it out loud.

"Do it, Garcia. He may be the unsub and he will be the one going after Morgan and Emily when the storm clears."

Garcia's fingers start to fly. "On it. Hit you back when I have information."

Hotch hangs up and looks at Rossi and Reid. "We won't be able to reach them until the storm passes. Bennett says Anna keeps caves ready for emergencies. He's sure she would get them to safety."

"The storm is right over them. Let's hope Bennett's faith in her is well founded," Rossi notes.

"Hotch, I think if we need him to, Underias would help us," Reid states. "He respects Rossi and, I think, by the end he saw I respected him."

Hotch nods. "Let's hope that doesn't become necessary."

The three agents get back to work though part of their mind is locked on their teammates and praying that they are okay out in the storm. When the clock strikes midnight, Hotch throws the folder in his hand on the table.

"We need to stop. We're looking at the same information over and over. We need Garcia's searches and those will be running overnight."

"We can't just…stop," Reid says worriedly.

"We have to, Reid. Hotch is right. We're just exhausting ourselves," Rossi points out.

"Let's get to the hotel and plan to be back here by 7," Hotch orders. "The storm should be done by morning and we'll be able to reach Morgan and Emily. JJ is going in to help Garcia weed out a lot of the like crimes she has found. If all goes well we'll be able to solidify the profile and find out if Clarkson is the man we're looking for."

The three men straighten up their work and shut down the investigation for the night. As they drive to the hotel their SUV is buffeted around by strong winds. The men all silently pray that their teammates had found shelter before the storm had stuck in force.


	9. Chapter 9

_Emily is fighting her way through the thick forest brush. With her hands tied together it is hard going. The storm rages around her. Rain pelts her skin like tiny shards of glass. Thunder cracks and lightening strikes. A tree falls from the force of the howling winds._

_But above the cacophony of the storm she can hear two distinct voices._

_"MAMA! HELP!" Henry screams._

_"MAMA!" Rocky screeches._

_Emily tries to call out to them; to let them know she is coming but she suddenly realizes she is gagged. She fights to rip off the cloth binding her mouth but it's no use. She can only struggle on, trying to reach them; praying she can save them. Tears mix with the rain on her face as she hears their screams getting desperate._

_Her feet fly out from under her, swept away by a stream of mud and water across her path. With her hands bound so tightly she has to fight to pull herself back to her feet as the wind threatens to flatten her into the ground. _

_Finally she sees a break in the trees. THERE! Her kids are in that clearing! If she can get to them they'll be safe. They will all be safe if she can just reach the clearing._

_She flings herself through the last of the shrubs and lands on the ground. She looks up as a hulking figure turns and smiles at her. She can see his teeth are jagged spikes when he smiles at her._

_"Too late. They're mine."_

_Emily struggles to stand as he runs away with Henry and Rocky still screaming in his arms._

* * *

Emily barely chokes off her scream as she jolts awake. Her heart is racing and her breath is ragged as if she really had been running through the stormy woods. She takes a few steadying breaths, hoping she doesn't wake her companions.

As the blood rushing through her head calms, she hears the sounds of birds chirping outside. She knows that's a good sign. Looking out she can see the sun starting to rise through the trees. She slowly stands, muffling a groan as her sore muscles stretch and her bones and ligaments pop and snap.

"You're getting old, Prentiss," Emily mumbles to herself.

Looking at her watch she sees it is just a few minutes after 6 a.m. Grabbing the roll of toilet paper Anna had set out the night before Emily heads outside to take care of business. She would wait until after breakfast before trying to call Hotch to let him know they are okay just relegated to walking unless the horses take it upon themselves to return.

"Hmph, fat chance of that," she mutters with a grin.

When she returns to the cave she sees Morgan sitting up and working his left arm. He smiles at her.

"Morning."

"Morning. How's it feel?"

"Sore. Thanks for setting it, Em."

She smiles. "Someone has to take care of your ass. Lord knows you can't take care of it yourself."

He chuckles. "True. Have you called 'Dad' yet?"

"Nah, figured I'd wait until we had breakfast and give him a chance to wake up."

"You really think he slept with us out here?"

"I hope so. And I hope to hell Jen didn't know we were out in that storm."

Morgan raises an eyebrow. "You really think she wasn't aware of the storm? You _have_ met her, right?"

"Shit. I was afraid you'd say that." She glances at her watch. "Fuck protocol."

Morgan grins as Emily grabs a satellite phone and goes out of the cave to call her wife. Emily dials JJ's cell and is not surprised when it is answered after the first ring.

"Emily?"

"Hi, baby."

"Oh, thank God. Are you guys okay?"

"Sore but mostly fine. Morgan dislocated his shoulder again when his horse spooked but Anna and I were able to put it back in. And she got us to a cave so we had shelter all night. Unfortunately the horses ran off so we'll be hiking out today."

"Who the hell is Anna?"

Emily is stunned by the question…and the jealousy in her wife's voice. She knows she has to tread carefully. "Anna is the guide that led Morgan and I on this journey, Jen. She knows these woods like the back of her hand and thank God she did since she knew there was a cave for us to shelter in. And even better, it's one she keeps stocked with dry wood just in case she needs to take cover in it."

"And what does she look like?" JJ inquires stiffly.

Emily just shakes her head and can't help but chuckle. "Jennifer Andrea Jareau Prentiss, why the hell are you jealous?"

"I'm NOT jealous! I just can't help but wonder why you didn't mention your guide is a gorgeous Amazon woman."

Emily laughs even harder. "I love you, Jen. She's not an Amazon. She's not even as tall as you. She is, however, a blue-eyed blonde. But there's one thing about her that makes her totally not my type."

"Oh, what's that?" JJ demands.

"She's not you, you nutcase."

There is a long pause on the other end of the line. "I _am_ a nutcase, aren't I?"

"Completely certifiable but I love you anyway," Emily confirms.

"Can we just chalk that up to me worrying about you all night and, well, maybe hormone issues?"

"Done. But I reserve the right to pick on you a little bit about it later."

JJ smiles. "Deal. I love you, Emily. And, probably more importantly after my little outburst, I trust you."

"I love you, too. So, uh, you going to the office today?"

JJ sighs. "Yes. Garcia has a whole lot of like crimes to weed through. It will help the team if I can eliminate some of them before you get sent a bunch of dead ends. But I promise not to over exert myself. Hell, Garcia won't let me if I try."

Emily smiles. "That's true. Tell her I'll buy her something pretty if she takes care of you."

"I will," JJ agrees with a smile. "I really am sorry about earlier."

"I know, sweetheart. Look, I better touch base with Hotch. They may know we're stranded or they may not. Either way, he owes me a spa day."

JJ laughs. "Yeah, good luck getting that out of him. Be safe, Em."

"I will be. Take care of our nesters, Jen."

"Always. Love you."

"Love you, too."

Emily hangs up and turns back to the cave. She sees Morgan on his satellite phone and figures he's talking to Hotch. She goes back into the cave and finds Anna has just finished mixing a cup of instant coffee. The guide hands it to the profiler. Emily smiles.

"You just became my new best friend."

Anna smiles. "Thanks. So, as soon as you finish that and a breakfast bar was can get moving. We can actually walk to the fifth site from here. Morgan is going to tell your boss to have someone meet us there with the horses."

"I see. Will it be…be your boyfriend?"

"No. The horses went to the ranch I expected they would. One of their hands will meet up with us."

Emily nods. "Okay. I'm sending Morgan back out with whoever brings the horses. You and I will have to check out the last 3 camps on our own."

"Think he'll agree to that?"

"If he doesn't I'll hit him in the arm with a stick," Emily says with a wink.

Anna chuckles. "Yeah, I believe you would."

* * *

"And you obviously took a hit to the head last night, Prentiss. I'm not leaving you out here in the woods!" Morgan says angrily.

Emily had tired long ago of his tirade. She turns around and grabs his arm. He winces as she gives it a light tug.

"Yeah, you'll be a big help." She backs him up against a tree. "Listen to me and listen to me good, Derek: if by chance we meet up with the unsub I can't be worried about you and Anna both. And if something were to happen to either of you I would never forgive myself. Now put yourself in my shoes: if that arm delays your reaction or gets hit harder than that little tug you'll be on your knees in pain. Could you live with having to tell Anna's family or mine that we were hurt or even killed because you were too damn proud to admit you were injured?"

Morgan stares into fierce brown eyes. The passion behind Emily's words had struck him in the heart. She's right…he couldn't live with the guilt if his injury caused the women to get hurt or worse. He lets out a breath.

"Shit."

Emily sees the realization in his face. "Thank you."

She turns around and starts after Anna again. Morgan waits a moment before following. He thinks back to his early days with the BAU. Hotch had always told him he acted without thinking about others; without relying on others. Somewhere over time his chief's words had obviously hit home. He hates the thought of leaving Emily and Anna. He hates it even more to think his stubbornness could be their downfall. He knows their best chance is for him to remove himself from the woods.

"When the fuck did I grow up?" he mumbles to himself.


	10. Chapter 10

"Do you need a pillow?"

JJ laughs at her best friend. "Pen, I'll be standing in the conference room sorting these leads. What the hell would I do with a pillow?"

"I don't know. Rest your tummy on it?" Garcia answers with a shrug.

JJ starts to laugh and looks down at her toned abs. "You saying I have a belly?"

"NO! I mean…shit, Jayje."

JJ takes her hand and gives it a squeeze. "I'm fine, Pen. I promise. And if I need to rest, I will. But the changes in my body are so new there won't be any major symptoms hitting me just yet. Heck, they may not hit at all. One thing I know will help me is finding the information that aids the team and gets them home soon."

Garcia bites her lip. "Okay. If you insist. But if you need to rest make sure you do. If I even suspect you're pushing yourself I will email the team the picture of you running around the park in your undies."

JJ blushes. "How the hell do you know about that? I was five!"

Garcia grins slyly. "Your mother loves me, sugar. She's pretty handy with a scanner, too."

JJ shakes her head. "I am sooo going to have to have a talk with Sandy Jareau."

Garcia just chuckles and makes her way back to her office. JJ looks at all the information on similar, unsolved cases the analyst had culled. It worries her that there are so damn many.

"This shit just never ends," she says as she grabs the first file folder.

* * *

Hotch hits the speaker on his phone. "You have all 3 of us, Garcia."

"Okay, so I finished the run on Chase Clarkson. Sad story. Abandoned at an orphanage at about a year old with nothing but the clothes on his back and a note saying his mother couldn't afford to raise him. He went through a series of foster homes finally finding what looked to be permanent when he was seven. He lived with a man for 4 years who taught him all about camping and the outdoors. But since the man was single, he wasn't allowed to adopt. When Chase turned 11, the man died and he went back into the foster system where he remained until he was 18 living in 15 different homes in those 7 years."

"This guy had no chance," Rossi notes.

"Sounds like it," Garcia says. "But here's the thing: there are no records of him getting in trouble. He pulled okay grades and even earned a scholarship to a Toronto university to study forestry. He only stayed a year, preferring to work as a guide instead of study. I've sent you the information on the various places he worked and before you ask, yes, I did check for sexual assaults in the areas he lived and came up with nada."

Hotch frowns. "Nothing? Or cases maybe solved but the wrong person arrested?"

"I mean, nada. Nothing out of the ordinary and he lived in pretty remote areas so rapes and assaults would have stood out," Garcia explains.

"Maybe he used his off time to troll area cities," Hotch suggests. "Dave, Reid, start calling the places he worked. We need to get his employment records, Garcia. We need to know when he took vacation and see if that coincides with unsolved attacks in larger cities."

"Okay, sir, but uh…never mind…"

"What is it, Garcia?" Hotch presses.

"Sir, I know this is completely not fact based like you like things to be but, well, my first impression is this isn't your unsub."

Hotch frowns. "Why do you think that?"

"Over the years I have tracked a lot of skeevy people for you. The guilty ones always had a history that shot up into the sky like a firework. This guy just…doesn't have that. Nothing bad in his past at all. Not even notices of truancy in his school records."

Hotch's brow furrows even more. He looks up to see Reid and Rossi both studiously not looking at him. He sighs.

"Thank you for your insight, Garcia. I'm afraid I might be starting to pigeon hole the facts to fit a suspect rather than using the facts to find a suspect."

Garcia smiles, glad she hadn't angered the chief. "No problem, sir. I'm going to go check on JJ and see if she needs me to search out any more information to help her out. Toodles!"

Hotch disconnects the phone and looks at the other two agents again. "So, when were you two going to point out what Garcia did?"

Rossi grins. "We were about to play 'rock, paper, scissors' to see who got the honor."

Hotch chuckles and nods. "Right. I'm going to go get a fresh cup of coffee and come back without blinders on."

"Still want us calling Clarkson's past employers?" Reid asks.

Hotch sighs. "Just so we know we've covered everything. If something pops we can go back to him as being a suspect. Get that stuff cleared and we can start a new profile without my preconceived notions interfering."

The other two nod as Hotch walks out of the room. Reid smiles at Rossi.

"I so would have scissored your paper."

Rossi frowns. "How do you know I'd throw paper?"

Reid chuckles smugly. "Please. You're an author. What else would you throw?"

Rossi can't help but laugh. The genius is right: he'd have thrown paper.

* * *

Anna smiles and extends her hand. "Hi, Huck. Thanks so much for bringing them back to us."

The ranch hand smiles. "Not a problem, Anna. Got me out of gelding a couple horses."

Anna laughs. "Well, glad we could help. These are Agents Prentiss and Morgan. Got a favor to ask: mind if Morgan rides back with you? His shoulder was dislocated and if the storms come back he won't be able to help himself if we have to go through the brush."

Huck nods and looks at Morgan. "You okay to ride?"

Morgan nods. "Yeah. But, uh, can't race you back," he adds with a grin.

Huck smiles. "Well, again, no desire to help with the gelding so I won't mind taking it slow."

Morgan turns to Emily. "You sure about this?"

Emily just raises an irritated eyebrow. "Yes, hardhead."

"Be safe, Emily."

She nods. "I will be. We'll see you tonight."

He can't help it. "Unless sasquatch gets you."

The other three laugh as Emily blushes bright red. "Remind me again why you're my friend?"

He gives her a wink. Soon he and Huck are riding back down the trail. Emily glances over the fifth stop on the tour one last time. Satisfied there was nothing more to learn here she looks at Anna.

"Ready to go on?"

"Now that I have a horse to do the work, hell yeah," the blonde states.

Emily chuckles and mounts up on Pilsy. Anna is right: it's nice that the horse is doing the work.

An hour and a half later they dismount at the sixth site they are visiting, scene of the 6th attack. Anna stands back with the horses as Emily slowly scans the clearing. For the fifth time there is no wolf paw print. Emily shakes her head.

"Doesn't make sense. If he has to have his spirit guide represented we'd have found signs of the sand he used more than once. What is going on?"

As she scans once more her eyes spy a small rock grouping. She slowly approaches and kneels down beside a pyramid of three rocks of gradually smaller size. She looks over her shoulder.

"Anna? What do you make of this?"

Anna walks over and looks down. "It's a warning sign. You know like in Girl Scouts."

Emily shrugs. "Grew up overseas so I was never a scout. What kind of warning?"

Anna shrugs. "It's a general warning sign."

Emily pulls out the digital camera she had been using at each site. She scans through the pictures.

"Son of a bitch…the pyramids are there every time."

Anna leans over her shoulder. "Really? That's GREAT!"

Emily looks up at her. "Why?"

"Chase doesn't use rock signs. Too easy for them to get disturbed by animals. Not to mention you have to spend a lot of time to find the right ones so the rock cairns stack with stability so they last. He's not patient enough for that. He uses tree hashes when he needs to mark a trail for some reason."

Emily nods. "The unsub may have been counting on animals to disturb them, though. Or even Mother Nature."

Anna's face falls. "So…it could still be Chase?"

Emily shrugs. "I don't know. What I do know is you said the wolf paw was very, very important to him. We've only found sign of it at one site. If it is something that he has to do to honor his heritage I think we'd have seen at least traces of sand at each clearing; somewhere somewhat protected from the elements like at the first site."

Anna smiles. "It's not him. I swear, Emily, you'll see it's not him."

Emily smiles. "I hope you're right. And right now, I feel you are."

Anna relaxes quite a bit, glad that the agent is turning her attention from Chase. Emily stands and slowly walks the site looking for anything else that could tell them anything about the man they are hunting. When she is satisfied she has seen and photographed everything she turns to her guide.

"So, on to the next?"

Anna nods. "On to the next."

* * *

"Garcia, I think I have something," JJ says as she walks into the analyst's lair. "A year ago there were a number of attacks in the area of Cuivre River State Park in Missouri. Women kidnapped from St. Louis and taken to the park where they were raped in sites off the main trails."

"Holy Understatement, Jayje. You have more than 'something' you have mirror image attacks."

"Yeah, but there were only 3 before the rapists disappeared. Authorities assumed it was a vacationer or some other transient so the cases went cold."

"Because he went up to Arkansas."

"Right. And started changing cities for the abductions so they wouldn't be linked so fast. But now that they have been linked, he might decide to cut and run. Get the team everything you can on these rapes," JJ orders.

Garcia nods. "And narrow like crime searches to cities near state or national parks. Got it, Jayje."

JJ nods and starts back to the conference room, pulling out her cell phone as she goes. "Hotch? I think we found something. Think the locals will know if anyone relocated from Missouri in the last year?"

Hotch shrugs. "Could. What do you have?"

JJ tells him about the rapes that stopped abruptly. "Garcia is now trying to dig out more information on the investigation. Want me to call the detectives once she has it?"

"Yes. We need to know if they had any viable suspects and we need to see why there was no DNA hit when Garcia requested that search."

JJ thinks a second. "It's weird that he would be careful to not leave DNA behind then devolve to leaving it behind. It's usually the other way around."

"Exactly. Either we have an anomalous unsub or the police never got the DNA entered into CODIS."

"As soon as I have an answer I'll let you know. If it's the second option, I'll get them to input it so we can definitively link the cases if possible."

"Good."

"Oh, uh, Hotch…heard from Emily?"

"Not since this morning. She did order Morgan back with the ranch hand that returned the horses to her and Anna."

JJ grins. "Bet that went over well with him."

"I can only imagine she finally had to resort to threats to get him to agree."

"Right. Tell him I hope he's feeling better soon."

"I will. Talk to you soon, Jayje."

"See ya, Hotch."

* * *

Morgan dismounts and sighs in relief. "I feel bad I left my partner and Anna up there but I have to say I'm glad my ass is off that horse."

Huck laughs. "I bet you are. I guess you D.C. types don't spend a lot of time in the saddle."

"Nope. And since I'm originally from Chicago it's never been a part of my life."

Huck nods. "I expect not. Well, I'll get the horses put up and taken back to the ranch. Anna can pick up Atom there tomorrow."

"Sounds good, my man. Thanks again," Morgan says, offering his hand.

Huck gives it a shake and starts to loosen Atom's girth to make transporting him a bit more comfortable. He has just walked the horse up into the trailer when he sees Morgan pull out of the parking lot. Huck smiles and looks back up at the trail. He secures Atom and goes back to his own horse.

"Ready to ride back up there, Demon? Not often I have a bitch delivered to me." He rubs his horse's face. "Shame about Anna. I hate to kill her but this time they both die and we move on. May head out west this time. What do you think?"

He pulls himself up into the saddle. Ranger Bennett had been ever so helpful in telling him exactly where the ladies were going. Huck will meet them at the last stop on their trip. He should have enough time to set a trap before the heavy storms return. He can kill Anna and drag the brunette agent into the woods. Damn fools will probably never even find her body.

Whistling a happy tune he turns Demon towards the trail and starts his journey towards his final confrontation in this park as the first raindrops start to fall.


	11. Chapter 11

By 1 p.m. Eastern Time Garcia has found three other places with similar crime patterns. However, one set isn't near a state or national park. She stares at the stats on the screen. She grabs one of her troll dolls and holds it so it can "read" along with her.

"Six women kidnapped and raped. Held anywhere from 5 hours to 2 days. They were in a local community park when they were taken. Police feel they were threatened as their stories had strange variations and the detectives just had a hunch they were withholding information." She turns the troll so they can look at each other. "Sounds like our guy to a point, doesn't it?" She makes the troll nod. "These would have been his first. Then he moved on to the parks where he had more privacy and could torment the women longer, the sick, psycho freak."

"Nice conclusion, Profiler Garcia and faithful companion, Sparky," JJ says from the doorway.

Garcia spins around and waves the troll at JJ. "OH, NO! NO! NO! NO! Do not even joke that your dark and twisted mind knowledge has rubbed off on my bright and sunshiny and pretty mind!"

JJ smirks. "I remember when I said the same thing as a media liaison. Then I realized I really was learning to profile as I culled cases."

Garcia opens her mouth several times to argue but stops. "Jayje…what the hell is happening to me?"

JJ walks over and places her hands on Garcia's shoulders. "Our little analyst is growing up."

"Oh, bull hockey!" Garcia thinks a second and worries JJ might be right. "Oh, shit. I need a vacation."

"I won't argue with that one," JJ agrees. "But what is it you and Sparky were discussing?"

Garcia tells JJ about the other like crimes, including the one from 4 years before that looked to be the unsub's first series of attacks. JJ slowly nods.

"Shoot them all to Hotch. Tell him I'll be double checking everything but at first shake it looks like you're right."

"You don't know how sad it makes me that I'm right," Garcia moans as she turns back to her computer.

JJ glances at another monitor and frowns. "Holy shit! Is that the park again?"

Garcia looks at the weather radar and slowly nods. "Yeah. Started raining a little while ago. The warnings started popping up just before you walked in."

JJ runs her hands through her hair. "Son of a bitch. Really wish I hadn't seen that."

"When do you think she'll get out of there?"

JJ shrugs. "I have no idea. She promised to call as soon as she does so cross your fingers that it's soon."

Garcia holds up both hands showing her crossed fingers. "You got it, Jayje."

"Thanks, Pen."

JJ goes back to the conference room. She sits down and rubs her stomach. "You guys hang on, okay? Sorry for the stress. I promise we'll solve the case and things will get better soon."

With that promise to the nesters, she pulls up the information Garcia had emailed her and starts to work on double checking everything.

* * *

Emily and Anna had dismounted and are now leading the horses. The trail had become too muddy and there was worry the normally sure-footed animals could slip accidentally. The light showers had once again turned to torrential downpours. As the wind had picked up, Emily calls out to Anna.

"How much farther to the campsite?"

"About a mile. Why?"

"Pilsy is limping."

"Shit."

Emily steps to the side of the horse and impresses Anna by lifting up the horses hoof to check for a stone. She scrapes away the mud and shakes her head. She carefully sets the hoof down and stands.

"No stone. Could be ligament or muscle. Either way, can't risk riding him even if this crap clears off," Emily says as she strokes the horse's neck.

Anna slowly turns, studying the trees around her. "This way, Emily. It will be a tight trail but if we follow this deer path up we will find another cave. Let's see if we can wait this stuff out."

Emily nods and follows her up into the trees. The profiler realizes she was wrong earlier: Hotch owes her _two_ spa days for all this crap, not just one.

* * *

Morgan walks into the ranger station. Hotch raises an eyebrow at him.

"You could have showered first, Morgan."

Morgan smiles. "Just wanted to let you know I was out of the woods. We any closer to closing in on Clarkson?"

Hotch shakes his head. "It's not him."

Morgan frowns. "What? But the wolf paw…"

"He does use it wherever he camps but that doesn't make him a rapist. I was quick to try to make the facts fit him. Garcia's examination of his life doesn't show a serial rapist in the making. When I looked at the history of attacks again this morning and compared it to records of when he was known to be leading campers on their survivalist retreats he would have been unable to commit two of the rapes."

Morgan sighs. "Well, I'm glad for Anna. Where does this leave our investigation?"

"Garcia and JJ found like crimes in 4 other places. We're trying to figure out a way to search for a like person in all 5 areas. We're waiting for police reports showing who they spoke with, both as suspects and witnesses. Right now it's a frustrating waiting game."

Morgan walks over and looks at the maps up on the wall. He can see Reid has used color-coded stickers to show abduction sites, rape scenes, and dump sites. As he studies the other three state and national park locations Morgan frowns.

"Equestrian trails."

Reid walks over. "What?"

Morgan traces a finger along one map. "All the rape sites at the state parks and the national park were near equestrian trails. He could have scouted locations on horseback. That's when he marks the site in some way."

Reid nods. "That makes sense. Well, except here." He walks over to the community park. "No equestrian trail."

Morgan studies that map. He smiles and taps one corner. "Riding rings and barns. More Emily's style than Western but if our guy likes horses he may have hung around there."

Reid pulls out his phone. "Maybe a student or stable hand. We'll see what Garcia can dig up for us."

Morgan nods. Rossi pats him on the shoulder.

"While it's good to see you, it's not so nice to smell you. Please, for the love of God, go get a shower and change."

Morgan laughs. "Sorry, old man. I'm going now. Be back in an hour or so."

"Morgan, take a couple hours. We're waiting on some info from JJ and Garcia. We'll call you if we need you back here. Otherwise, get some rest and ice your shoulder. I don't want you back here before 3."

"But Hotch, I- -"

"Morgan, we may need you closer to 100% than you are right now. Go. Rest." Hotch orders.

Morgan sighs and nods his head. "Okay. I'll see you at 3 unless you need me sooner."

Hotch nods as Morgan leaves to go get cleaned up and rest after his night in the woods.

* * *

Emily relaxes against the cave wall. Anna sits down across from her. Emily can see there is still a bit of worry in Anna about Chase Clarkson potentially being their unsub. There was one piece of evidence only the team knew about. It could settle Anna's mind completely if Emily reveals it. The profiler runs down everything she has learned on this trek into Hell. She decides this could be the last bit of information that either confirms or refutes Clarkson as the unsub.

"Anna, I don't mean to be personal but have you seen Chase naked?"

Anna blushes brightly. "Uh, what?"

Emily leans towards her. "Does he have a mole or scar or birthmark that is really noticeable?"

Anna frowns and shakes her head. "A scar on his side. He fell during a hiking trip and in kind of a freak accident fell on a stick. It tore him up but didn't do any major damage."

Emily nods. "I see. What about on his legs?"

Anna thinks a moment but shakes her head. "No, nothing I've ever noticed. Why?"

Emily smiles. "Something that has come to light since we started the case. Anna, he's not the unsub."

Anna blows out a breath of relief. "Oh, thank God. I didn't think I could be such a horrible judge of character."

"The more I get to know you the more I agree. That's why I asked what I did. It's something called 'holdback' info. We haven't released that to anyone so I have to ask that you not mention to anyone that I asked. If it gets out it could drive the real rapist underground."

Anna nods. "I swear, I won't tell anyone. Not even Chase until you catch the bastard responsible for this."

"Thank you. So, tell me, what drove you to be a wilderness guide?"

Anna chuckles. "I know you've seen mostly rain and mud this trip but the park is gorgeous. There are a couple other places I work, too. I just love being outside with nature. The thought of being in an office for 9 hours a day scares me worse than anything I could encounter out here."

Emily nods. "I get that, I guess. You'll forgive me, though, if I don't trade my FBI badge for a park ranger badge."

Anna laughs. "Sure, I think I can do that. So is it exciting what you do?"

Emily smiles. "It can be. Then there are the days stuck in court or doing paperwork that drive me crazy. But tracking down a bad guy before he can strike again, giving a family a little peace of mind after a tragedy makes it all worth any frustration. Plus, the team I work with are an extended family to me. Morgan is my best friend and gets me in a way no one ever has."

Anna grins. "I could tell you two were close. I mean, not like lovers close but close."

Emily chuckles. "Definitely not lovers." She holds up her left hand. "My wedding band. My wife wears a similar one."

Anna raises her eyebrows. "Ah, okay. I heard you mention a JJ and just assumed it was a guy."

"Nope, she's all woman. And she's the best thing that ever happened to me. She taught me to love, to not hide my feelings, to open myself up to emotions. We now have 2 wonderful kids and, maybe, a third on the way."

"Wow! I think I'd like her."

Emily nods. "I think you would, too. She actually enjoys camping. If she hadn't just been inseminated she'd have been the one here in the cave with you."

Anna is surprised. "So she's, like, on your team?"

Emily nods, smiling. "Yep. It's unusual but our boss, Hotch, and even the FBI director have okayed it. As long as we never put our relationship before the case we'll be fine."

"How do you do it?"

Emily shrugs. "Honestly, I don't know. We just do. We've been tested a few times and have always shown we can follow the directive of life. Usually it's not until after the situation ends that we focus on the 'what if'. If that ever changes it will be time for one of us to move on from the unit."

"Well, I hope that never happens to you. It's nice to have someone in your life that really gets what you do and understands why. You can imagine most men I date eventually start to talk about 'when I stop playing in the woods'. I know then it's time to cut and run. Chase talks about 'when we bring our kids' out here." She smiles. "You'll never know how relieved I am that he's not the bad guy."

Emily chuckles. "I can imagine."

Before she can say anymore darkness blocks out the light from the cave mouth. Emily glances up and sees a man standing there.

"Hi," he says, his eyes slowly raking over Emily Prentiss.


	12. Chapter 12

JJ is staring at hundreds of names on one of Garcia's computer screens. "Think, Prentiss, think," she coaches herself.

Garcia sits, hands ready to type in anything JJ comes up with to narrow the hundreds down to a few.

"Okay, first things first. Do any of those names show up with records in Arkansas _and_ Missouri?"

"Two states could help us," Garcia says as she types. A second later her computer beeps. "Ooo, good call, Jayje. Down to 43 names with personal or familial connections to those two states."

"Good. Okay. Of those 43, any convictions or even just arrests for assault, rape or attempted rape?"

Garcia's fingers speed over the keyboard. "Shit. No."

JJ starts to pace. "And their extended family?"

"Gonna be a long list to try but…." Garcia types, expanding her parameters. She sighs. "My baby needs 5 minutes to complete that run. It's a lot of people."

JJ nods. "Right." She continues to pace, trying to come up with another way to narrow the search.

"Uh, Jayje? The nesters called. They want you to sit down and relax," Garcia says with a grin.

JJ chuckles and sits down. "You're twisted. They don't have phones yet."

Garcia laughs. "Who's calling who twisted?" She studies her best friend. "So, uh, feel anything yet?"

JJ shrugs. "Just nerves. You'd think I'd know what to expect since I have Henry."

Garcia laughs. "Jayje, it took you so long to realize you were pregnant do you really even remember what your body was going through?"

JJ laughs. "A little. I remember feeling like…like I had the flu or something. And I suddenly felt dirty every time I got home. I got obsessive about showering off the cases when I got home, even if I just spent a day doing budgets and paperwork. I had an insane urge to be clean."

"So are you itchy all over and needing to get a shower?"

JJ sighs. "No, I'm not." Garcia's grin fades. "But it may not happen this time, Pen. Who knows? I could get Emily's fishy cravings instead."

"Not if you're lucky," Garcia says with a wince.

"Yeah, I know. Emily will never let me live it down if I start living on sardines and anchovies."

Further conversation ends as Garcia's computer beeps.

"Coolness! Done sooner than 5," Garcia says as she turns around to the screen. "Okay, we have 14 names. Huh. Who'd have thought it would be so long?"

"Okay, what do those people do?"

"Let's see we have: 4 in the military or military reserves, 1 accountant, 6 teachers, 2 cops, and 1 jack of all trades."

JJ's eyes narrow. "Pull up more info on the cops and the jack of all trades."

"First cop Eileen Oreck. She is- -"

"She's not a rapist. Next."

"Right. Good point. Next cop is 64 year old Peter Straus. Hmm…wonder if he's any relation to our Straus?"

"Doubtful. Do we have a picture?"

Garcia types and pulls up Straus' office State Police photo. He is a handsome African-American man.

"Not our unsub," JJ concludes. "Now the jack?"

Garcia pulls up the info on the last man. "Harold Blair, age 26. Has had a job in…whoa…Jayje he has been close to all 4 parks, including the community park."

"Why didn't he come up on the first check of the community park workers and barn users?"

Garcia shrugs. "Not sure. But he lived near it, working as a yard maintenance worker. He has no direct tie to the park except living near it."

"Check his financials. Does he have a horse?"

Garcia types. "Yes! In fact, he didn't need the park barns because his parents had a small farm where he kept his horse."

"But I bet he started his hunting in that park. Does he have any arrests for anything at all?"

"Was arrested a couple times for stalking but no charges pressed. He would focus on a woman and she would eventually get skeeved out and call the cops."

"Were the women connected to the barns at the park?"

Garcia checks the complainants. "Yes, both of them. OH! Look!"

JJ turns and looks at the photos of the two women. "Brown-eyed, brunettes. Shocker there. How soon after the second arrest did he leave town?"

"About a month. My guess is his Daddy, who is a city alderman, got his son out of trouble but finally sent him off."

"Most likely. And there are probably other women in that area who complained about him but it was swept under a rug." JJ thinks a second. "Garcia, his father…what does his wife look like?"

Garcia types some more. "Mr. Blair is currently married to his second trophy wife who is, shock again, a brown-eyed brunette."

"Run her information."

Garcia types a bit, getting what JJ is after. "Ew, that is too gross for words."

JJ just sighs as she reads the article Garcia's search had pulled up. The current Mrs. Blair had been Harold's high school sweetheart. They were even named king and queen of their prom and most likely to get married.

"Well, she did get married to a Blair," JJ notes.

"And about 6 months before the wedding is Harold's first arrest for stalking," Garcia notes.

"That was the stressor that started him down this path. Where is he now, Pen?"

Garcia types. "His truck is registered in St. Louis but his cell phone records show a lot of hits around Winslow."

"Then the team can find him. Send them his info," JJ orders as she pulls out her cell phone. "Hotch? I think we have a strong suspect for you to find." She listens a second. "That's the hitch: we have no idea exactly where he is." She listens and smiles. "Well, that's why you get paid the big bucks."

* * *

Hotch, Reid and Rossi read over all the information Garcia had send on Harold Blair. Hotch finally nods.

"It's him."

Rossi nods in agreement. "I agree. But where the hell is he?"

"All his jobs have been as an outdoor worker or a stable hand," Reid notes. "I'd say we have a few calls to make."

Hotch prints out a picture of Harold Blair and lays it on the table. "He is definitely the same complexion as the unsub." He stands and puts the picture beside the sketches of the suspect. "There's a little bit of him in all these sketches. Reid, Rossi, get some pictures together and go show the women a line up. We need to see if this is the unsub or not."

Reid and Rossi stand. They go see Ranger Bennett and put together a series of 6 photos to show the women. They are out the door in less than 10 minutes, hoping they are closing in on the man terrorizing women in the area.

* * *

Anna leaps up. "Chase!" She throws her arms around his neck and gives him a deep, passionate kiss. He gives her a smile when it finally ends.

"Not that I'm upset but that's a hell of a welcome."

Anna grins. "Long story."

Emily stands and extends her hand. "Emily Prentiss."

He shakes it. "Chase Clarkson. Was out checking on one of my primitive sites for next weekend when I heard the horses. Wanted to make sure some hikers weren't lost or something. When I saw the horses I realized I'd stumbled on you all. You okay?"

"Not hurt just trying to wait out the storm," Anna explains. "Pilsy has pulled up lame so we needed to give him a break from walking through the mud."

"Damn. Are you all done with what you came up here to do?"

"No we still have two more places to go," Anna explains.

"Oh. Can I help at all?" he offers.

Emily nods. "I think so." She looks at Anna. "The storm is easing. Why don't you and Chase take the pack horse and Pilsy down. I can ride Starfire to the last two sites on my own. They are pretty close to the trail and I'll have the GPS just in case."

Anna slowly shakes her head. "I don't know, Emily."

"I promise: if I run into Bigfoot I won't panic," she says with a grin.

Anna chuckles. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'll be damned if I stay one more night out in these damn woods. Uh, no offense."

Anna laughs. "No offense taken. But just in case, let me put a few things in your backpack."

Emily nods. Anna puts in the metal cup, a couple packs of soup, a first aid kit and a signal mirror.

"Stick to the GPS trail."

Emily stares at the machine. "Right. Just follow the blue line."

Anna's jaw drops open.

Emily grins slyly. "Just kidding. I know that's a river."

"Morgan's right, you are a smartass."

Emily nods proudly. "Yes, yes I am. I follow the red line. I'm the black dot so I'll see if I get off track." They step out to the horses. "I promise to take care of Starfire for you."

Anna pats Emily's shoulder. "If I didn't trust you I wouldn't agree. You may not be a woodswoman but you're definitely a horsewoman."

"I love riding. I'd almost forgotten how much."

The three lead the horses down the deer path. When they reach the equestrian trail, Emily mounts up.

"See you at the parking area."

Anna nods. "Be careful, Emily."

"Always," Emily responds as she and Starfire set off for the 7th site on the trek. It takes her about an hour to pick her way to the site even though it's only about a mile away. She doesn't want to push the horse as the rain is starting once more.

"I thought this area was known for droughts," Emily mutters to the horse. "Just my frickin' luck it picks this weekend to make up for lost rain."

After taking pictures of the rock pyramid and even bagging another piece of clothing that she finds in the bushes, Emily sets off for the eighth and final stop on her journey. It is just before 3 when she makes it to the site.

"Thank God, Starfire."

She tethers the horse to a tree and starts to scan the clearing. She spies the pyramid of rocks and pulls out her camera and takes several pictures of the clearing, making sure to get the pyramid in one shot. She finally steps into the camp site and starts to look around.

"Hi."

Emily spins in fear. "Huck! Holy shit, you scared me!"

He smiles at her. "Sorry. Got worried about the storm so I thought I'd ride back up here and check on you and Anna." He looks around. "Where is she?"

"Pilsy came up lame. She and Chase are leading him and the pack horse down another way."

"Ah, okay." He starts towards her.

"Uh, please, Huck, don't walk in here just yet. I need to get a few more shots for our records."

Hucks nods. "Sure. No problem."

Emily turns her back to him. She squats to get a close up picture of the pyramid.

"So, did you grow up around- -UNGH!"

Emily crumbles to the ground, unconscious.

* * *

Morgan walks into the ranger station at 5 minutes to three. Hotch rolls his eyes.

"You're early."

Morgan grins. "Would you believe my watch broke?"

"No. But I'm glad to see you. JJ and Garcia found a good suspect for us. Reid and Rossi have seen two of the women and so far both have picked him from a photo line-up."

"Thank God. So who is this bastard and- -what is he doing on the board?" Morgan asks pointing at Harold Blair.

"That's him. Harold Blair."

Morgan spins, fear on his face. "Hotch, that's Huck, the guy that brought the horses back this morning!"

Hotch stiffens. "So he knows where Emily and Anna are. SHIT!" He pulls out his phone and dials the number for Emily's satellite phone. He hears it pick up. "Prentiss?"

"I'm sorry, Emily can't come to the phone right now. I'm about to give her the ride of her life…however short her life may be."

Hotch and Morgan hear the sound of the phone falling into a puddle…and then silence.


	13. Chapter 13

Huck had chosen his steps carefully. He had not made a sound as he approached the squatting agent. She never even knew what hit her. He smiles and strokes a hand down her face.

"We're going to have so much fun," he tells the unconscious woman.

He ties her hands tightly in front of her and uses a bandana to gag her. She would not be as compliant as his other girls. But she would be his just the same.

"And my first kill," he whispers. "I always wondered what would allow me to cross that line."

He stands and leads Starfire into the clearing. Years of hard work around barns and ranches had made the lanky man deceptively strong. He lifts Emily up, smiling as she moans, and sits her in the saddle. He binds her hands to the saddle horn then ties both ankles to the stirrups. Even if she struggled she wasn't going anywhere. He zips her coat up all the way and stands the tall collar up to cover her lower face. From a distance she would just look like a rider braving the elements should someone see them.

"Good girl, Starfire," he says, patting the calm horse's neck.

He ground tethers her and goes off into the woods to retrieve Demon. As he grabs the reins of Starfire, he hears a ringing coming from Emily's pocket. He walks over and reaches in, pulling out the phone as Emily's eyes start to blink open. He listens a moment.

"I'm sorry, Emily can't come to the phone right now. I'm about to give her the ride of her life…however short her life may be."

Emily's eyes widen as Huck drops the phone into a puddle. He smiles at her. "Glad Anna wasn't with you. I like her. Would have hated to kill her."

Emily pulls at her hands and feet.

"It's no use, Emily. You're mine now. Time to have some fun."

Emily can only fight against the bindings as Huck mounts Demon with Starfire's reins in his hands. As he starts off, Starfire trails along behind, her unwilling rider trying to stave off panic as they do not follow the marked equestrian trail.

* * *

Hotch races out of the room and right to Felix Bennett. "Harold Blair is the unsub and he has my agent. How the hell do we get to them?"

It takes Bennett a moment to grasp what he's been told. "Huck? Fucking shit. Uh, ATV's. I'll get them delivered up to the trails." He picks up a phone. "Should take about 20 minutes."

"Thank you," Hotch replies. Inside his stomach is like a rock. Twenty minutes could be 19 minutes too late. "Let's go," he says to Morgan as they run out of the station. As they get to the SUV, Hotch's phone rings. "Yeah, Rossi?"

"Three for three, Hotch. You might want to bring this guy in for questioning."

"He has Prentiss."

"WHAT?!"

"You two continue to get women to i.d. him. Morgan and I are meeting with a ranger to go after them on ATV's."

"Does JJ know?"

Hotch winces. "No. I…I don't…maybe…shit…"

"I'll call her, Hotch. You two concentrate on getting Emily back."

"No, let me. I'll need to give her information you won't have." Hotch hangs up and slaps the steering wheel.

Morgan shakes his head. "I shouldn't have left them. Fuck me, I shouldn't have left them."

"No blame here, Morgan. Just believe we will find them."

Morgan spins. "The GPS! Bet Garcia could track it!"

"It was Anna's, not ours. We'd need the information on it to track it."

"SHIT!" Morgan slaps the dashboard. "And that fucker left the phone behind. Son of a BITCH!"

The two men lapse into silence, the scream of the sirens their only distraction.

* * *

As Anna and Chase step out of the woods into the parking area Anna frowns. "What the hell? Atom!"

She runs over to the trailer and sees the horse nibbling on some hay. At least he'd had food.

"What's wrong?" Chase asks.

"Huck said he'd take Atom back to the ranch. But his truck and trailer are over there. What the hell?"

"Maybe he got worried when the rain started again and went back up after you."

"No way. He knew we had Pilsy and Starfire, plus we had supplies. There was no reason to- -" her voice trails off as she puts two and two together but doesn't like the answer. She slowly turns to Chase. "Chase, you said once the two of you went swimming in that hot spring we discovered." Chase nods. "Did you skinny dip?"

Chase frowns. "Uh, yeah. But it's not like I'm gay or anything."

"I know that. But does he have a mole on one of his legs?"

Chase nods. "As a matter of fact, yeah, he does. It looked weird and I warned him he should watch it as it could be cancerous."

"Oh, SHIT! Give me your phone!" he hands it to her and she calls the ranger station. "Hi, this is Anna Tripp. Is Ranger Bennett available?" She waits a second. "Bennett, it's Anna. I need to talk to the FBI agents. I think Huck Blair might be the rapist."

Bennett sighs. "He is. They are on their way now. He has Prentiss. How the hell did you get away from him?"

Anna explains about Pilsy. "We left her alone up there. Oh, fuck, what have we done?"

* * *

When they reach the clearing Huck had prepared, Emily shivers, flashing back to Doyle and to Ridgeley. No! She will not be a victim! If she could survive Doyle and Ridgeley she could survive Huck.

Huck dismounts and ties Demon and Starfire off on a tree. He studies Emily carefully and sees she is not going to panic and make things easy for him. He shakes his head.

"Just can't trust you not to do something stupid, Emily."

He searches around until he finds a long, solid piece of wood. Emily shakes her head, pleading with her eyes. He smiles.

"A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do."

She struggles against the ropes but they are too tight. She uses her legs to get Starfire dancing around. Huck pulls out Emily's gun.

"I'll shoot her, Emily. I don't want to but I will."

Emily's last hope is to get Starfire to rear. She tries to squeeze her just right to get the horse to rear up at her captor but the horse just dances once more, unfortunately right towards Huck. He smiles and drops the gun. Swinging the stick like a baseball bat he slams it into the back of Emily's head. She slumps forward over the saddle horn, once again out cold. He drops the stick and grabs Starfire's reins.

"Easy, girl. Easy. That's a girl. Good girl," he says patting her neck as the horse calms.

Once Starfire is still, he steps past her and unties Emily's left leg. He steps around and unties her other leg and then her hands. He pulls the agent from the saddle and carries her away from the horses. His penis grows hard as he lays her on the ground. He nuzzles her neck.

"You're going to be the best one ever, Emily. Oh, yes, you are."

He stands and starts to set up his tent and get the camp ready. He'll wait to cut off her clothes until he's ready for her. No way he would be able to concentrate if she was lying there naked the whole time. Normally he'd make the women do a bit of a strip tease. This time…this time he would slowly cut the clothes from her body, relishing in her reaction as he slowly unveiled her.

"Wonder how long it will be until she's calling me 'sir'," he wonders aloud, his penis getting even harder at the thought.

* * *

Anna and Chase turn as they hear the sirens. She breathes a sigh of relief when she sees Morgan and Hotch.

"I swear to God, I didn't know!" she screams.

Morgan nods. "We know. Bennett has ATV's on the way. We'll need you with us. Both of you. You'll be able to tell if he's left the trail or not.

Chase and Anna nod. Hotch looks at Anna.

"We may be able to trace your GPS unit if you have its information."

"It's in my glove compartment. I keep it in case it has issues while I'm on the trails. Hold on." She runs and grabs the paperwork. "Here."

Hotch takes a deep breath. When he makes this call, JJ will know. He hits send. "Garcia, I need you to track a GPS unit."

"Okay. Hit me with the information."

Hotch gives her everything she needs to find the unit. After a moment she replies.

"I have it in Devils Den Park…zooming in…hmm…look to be off a trail of some sort." Then it hits her. "Shit! Hotch is this where Emily and Morgan are?"

"Uh, just Emily," Hotch replies.

Garcia is silent as she realizes what is going on. "Oh, shit…he has Emily?" she whispers.

"Yes. Garcia…where's JJ?"

"Reading reports in the conference room. Do you want me to tell her?"

"No. I'll call her. Garcia, you'll need to be our eyes and ears. Lock onto Morgan's phone, it has more battery life left than mine. We'll be on ATV's soon and you'll be our guide. Understood?"

"Yes, sir. Oh, God…"

"Thanks, Garcia."

"Good luck, sir."

Hotch hangs up and takes a steadying breath before hitting JJ's number.

"Hey, Hotch. I think this guy may have been a suspect in a couple other places," JJ starts.

"JJ…" Hotch says softly.

JJ stiffens. Her heart starts to race. "He has her, doesn't he?"

"He was the one that returned their horses this morning. He knew where they were and where they were going."

"But that doesn't mean he has her, does it?" Hotch tries to figure out how to answer. "Hotch?"

"I called her phone. He answered."

JJ is shaking. "No…not so soon after…no…not now. You FIND her, Hotch! You fucking FIND HER!" she screams.

Hotch sees the ranger truck pulling a trailer of ATV's pulling into the parking area. "We're going after her now. Garcia is tracking the GPS unit Emily has."

JJ stands and starts towards the analysts' lair. "Call me as soon as you know something, Hotch. You fucking call me."

"I will. I swear."

Hotch hangs up and moves over to where Chase and Morgan are offloading the four ATV's from the trailer. Bennett moves to Hotch.

"Do we have any idea where to go?"

"Yes. Our analyst is guiding us. She's got a lock on Anna's GPS unit and it looks like Emily still has it."

"Good. Anna and Chase can ride together. Let's go."

Soon, but not soon enough for Hotch, the four ATV's and their 5 passengers are on their way up the trail to find Emily and Huck.

* * *

Garcia has put the satellite image of the equipment location on the big screen on her wall. JJ stares at it.

"How close in can you get?"

"You won't see anything through the clouds, Jayje."

"YOU DON'T KNOW THAT! It could clear off. Zoom in!" JJ orders.

Garcia zooms in twice but the image starts to flicker. "OH, NO! No, no, no!"

"What the hell is going on?"

"The storms are still going on, Jayje. It's starting to interfere with the signal."

JJ turns her attention to the GPS tracker and sees it is still in the same place. As long as that doesn't move, Emily is right where the team is heading. Unless, of course, Huck had dumped the GPS unit. JJ's legs suddenly weaken and she drops into a chair.

"What if…if he dumped the unit, Pen?" she asks softly. "They may find it but not Emily."

"Don't think that way, Jayje. It won't do any good." She reaches over and takes JJ's hand. "Just believe the team will get there in time."

JJ nods, trying her best to follow her friend's advice. JJ is the only who knows the nightmares Emily has been having since Ridgeley threatened to rape and torture her. Add that to knowing that Doyle had planned to let his men rape her and her mind does not need this added threat.

"Oh, baby, what will this do to you?" JJ whispers.

Garcia stares at JJ. "Jayje, what's going on? Yes, this is scary but there's something more, isn't there?"

JJ nods. "She may not recover from this, Pen. Even if he doesn't…doesn't…even just the threat may be too much this time."

"Why?"

"Long story. And…and I can't tell it right now. I just can't."

Garcia nods understandingly, saying a quick prayer for both of her friends as she turns back to monitor the progress of the rescue party.

"Whoa! The GPS unit is on the move! And it's heading back towards the trail."

JJ sits forward, hope flaring within her. "What? Where?" She watches the green dot moving slowly but surely back towards the trail. "Please, Emily, please let that mean you're okay."

* * *

Emily groans as she slowly comes awake. She looks up as Huck stares down at her. She actually sees 2 Hucks and knows this means she definitely has a concussion. He leers down at her before straddling her waist and sitting down on her stomach. This traps her arms against her side and her hands under his ass. She groans.

"Hi, sweetheart. Glad to see you're awake." He trails a knife down her cheek to her chin. He reaches down with his other hand and slowly unzips her jacket as far as he can without moving. "You're a beautiful woman, Emily. I can't wait to see just how beautiful you are."

He lifts up the collar of her FBI t-shirt and uses the knife to cut a notch in it. He grins as he sees the fear in her eyes. He sets the knife on the ground and uses both hands to slowly start to rip open her shirt. She whimpers.

And then jumps when she hears the crack of a rock hitting Huck's skull. The man falls over, out cold as Emily stares up at the silhouette of another man.

"Guess this is the fuck screwing with my park," Oscar Underias states.

All Emily can wonder is has she traded one captor for another since she has no idea who this new man is.


	14. Chapter 14

JJ and Garcia watch as the green dot that represents Emily stays on course to intercept the black dot that represents the rescue team.

"Please…please…please…" JJ prays over and over.

They do not want to call the team yet, knowing it would delay the meeting that looks to be imminent. But if at anytime Emily's dot stops or veers away, Garcia is ready, her hand poised over her phone to ring Morgan's satellite phone.

* * *

Bennett is in the first ATV, followed by Hotch, then Chase and Anna, with Morgan bringing up the rear. As he reaches the area they will need to dismount and go on foot, he sees Starfire step out of the trees, an obviously wobbly Emily mounted on her. All the ATV's brake. Hotch is off his ATV and flying past Bennett before the ranger even dismounts.

"PRENTISS!" Hotch yells.

Emily pulls up Starfire. She points back the way she came. "Huck. Unsub. There. Guy named Oscar Underias is guarding him."

"Are you okay?"

She starts to shake her head then groans. "No. Concussion."

Hotch sees her ripped shirt. "Anything else?"

"No. Thank God Underias found us in time to stop…well…you know."

Hotch nods and helps Emily down from the saddle, gripping her tightly as she sways on her feet. He looks at Morgan and Bennett. "You two go get that fucking bastard. I'll get Emily down the mountain."

Morgan nods and hands Hotch his satellite phone. "Call Jayje."

"I will."

Anna mounts Starfire. "I'll meet you down there."

"Baby, if you think you're riding down alone you're nuts," Chase says. "I'll limp this ATV along with you."

Bennett looks at Hotch. "I've radioed for an ambulance to meet you."

"Thanks."

"You'll need 2," Emily says. "Underias clobbered that fucker pretty good."

Bennett nods. "Well, we'll worry about him eventually. I hope to hell he feels like crap for as long as possible."

Hotch hands Emily the phone. "Just hit send."

Emily takes the phone and hits the button.

"Morgan? What's going on?" Garcia screams.

Emily groans and holds the phone away for a second. "Please…no screaming," she pleads.

"EMILY!" JJ screams anyway.

"Shit! Seriously. No screaming. I'm okay. Got a concussion but okay. You two stop worrying. Especially you, Jen. Protect our nesters."

JJ sighs in relief and lets out a shaky breath. "I will, Emily. I love you."

"Love you, too, Jen."

Hotch takes the phone back. "Morgan and Bennett are on their way up to take Blair into custody. We're taking Emily down to get her head checked out. This shit is over," he concludes as the rain starts once again.

"Be safe, Hotch," Garcia tells him.

"Always."

He hangs up and the group starts to make their way back down to the parking area.

* * *

Rossi extends his hand to Oscar Underias.

"Thank you for saving our friend," he says sincerely. "There are those out there that would have turned a blind eye."

"Too many people turned a blind eye to me back in the day. Maybe there were a few that I wish had turned a blind eye to me. That shit Huck reminded me of those that thought their rights included being able to shit on those of us defending those rights. She was out there doing her job to make the world a better place. No one should be penalized for that."

Reid smiles at the man and extends his hand. "On behalf of the country, thank you for your service and I'm sorry for what you went through when you got back. And thanks for saving Emily, too."

Underias shakes Reid's hand. He studies the young genius a moment. "You may have hippie hair but you're no hippie. Take care of yourself, Doctor."

Reid nods. "I will. Thank you."

Underias leaves the station thinking maybe young people aren't as bad as they used to be after all.

* * *

When Huck awakens in the hospital he finds he is chained to his bed. He jerks at the cuff a couple times before a man approaches him from the shadows of the room.

"Harold Blair, you are under arrest for 8 counts of kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon and rape," Hotch tells him. "And that's just here in Arkansas. There's also the Federal charges of kidnapping and assaulting a Federal Officer." He pauses a moment. "And then there are 3 other cities that want a crack at you."

Huck's eyes widen. How had they found out about the other cities? Hotch leans in close to him.

"You're ass will never breathe fresh air again, you sick fuck."

The Arkansas state trooper in the room smiles as Huck starts to yank at the cuff some more. "No! No, I can't be cooped up! I can't! Bitch wanted me! They ALL wanted me! NO!"

Hotch just turns and walks out of the room.


	15. Chapter 15

Emily stares at the ceiling of the hospital room. The lights had been dimmed in deference to the light sensitivity associated with a concussion but she had a monitor on that kept her from falling asleep. Not that she could if she wanted to.

For the first time since she had joined the team she is doubting them.

Clyde Easter had left her ass hanging out on the line with Marcos San Mejia and in a deal done just before the take down of Doyle. She had always assumed he'd be unreliable so she had lived.

But this team…her family…she hadn't expected it from them.

No, she didn't blame them for the final battle with Ian Doyle. That was Easter again. They had found her, pulling out all the stops and even crossing a few lines to find her. They had come through then and other times, too.

But then Christopher Ridgeley had gotten his hands on her. Literally: molesting her, kissing her, describing in detail the way he was going to rape, torture, and finally kill her. They had barely managed to get her out of that one. Hotch gambled her life and nearly lost it.

And now she had been sent out into the wilderness after a rapist targeting brown-eyed brunettes with Morgan to back her up. Not a problem, usually, but Morgan wasn't 100%. Why the fuck had she allowed it to happen? When she needed him, where was he? Back at the fucking ranger station with his arm fucked up again. He shouldn't have been in the field if he wasn't 100%. Stupid fucking shitheads Hotch and Morgan, both.

Emily reaches up and wipes away a tear. What the hell was she going to do?

* * *

Monday morning Rossi picks up Emily at the hospital. He sees she is quieter than normal, even considering the concussion. When they get out to the SUV he looks at her before starting the engine.

"Want to talk about it?"

"No," she says immediately.

He watches her a moment then turns on the ignition. "When you're ready, I'm here for you."

She just nods, staring out the side window as if preventing him from reading her mind. She doesn't say anything else when they get to the hotel, instead heading straight to her room to pack up her things. It doesn't take long as she'd only been in there one night. Instead she sits on the bed alone. Thinking. She loses track of time and may have sat there all day if someone hadn't knocked on her door.

"Hey, Prentiss! Time to go," Morgan hollers from the hallway.

Emily takes a deep breath and grabs her bag. She opens the door and nods to him as she hurries towards the lobby. He frowns.

"Hey, Emily, wait up."

She doesn't answer, just keeps walking. Hotch sees the exchange and studies his two agents carefully. Morgan looks stunned and hurt. Emily just looks furious.

"Shit," Hotch mutters, guessing correctly what is behind Emily's actions.

Rossi steps up beside him. "She wouldn't talk to me, Hotch."

"Can't blame her," Hotch admits. "She's pissed at us. We left her alone in the woods with a rapist targeting women like her. Situation reversed I'd be pissed, too."

"It was a twist of fate," Rossi points out.

"Morgan wasn't completely healthy. I should have gone with her. And she knows it."

"Give her time, Hotch. She'll get past it."

"Maybe."

Emily's silence lasts the entire trip home. As she grabs her bags, Morgan grabs her arm.

"Emily, talk to me. Please."

She jerks away from him. "Back off."

He tries to stop her again but she steps away from him. He just stares in shock as she turns and goes to her Lexus without a word to anyone.

As she drives off, everyone assumes she is going to the office. Instead she pulls out her personal cell phone and hits one of her speed dial prompts. She gets voicemail.

"Dr. Westfallen, it's Emily Prentiss. I really…" her voice chokes off. "I really need to see you. Soon. Please," she begs as she hangs up.

She drives out of the gates at Quantico and drives towards Westfallen's office. She doesn't care if she has to wait all day. She can't go home and she can't go to the office. Not right now. Not feeling like this. Her phone starts to ring with JJ's tone. Emily stares at it a moment…then hits the ignore button.

"I can't Jen. I'm sorry," she whispers.

A few minutes later her phone trills that she has a message. She calls voicemail…and immediately hits delete when she hears her wife's voice.

"I'm sorry," she whispers again.

* * *

JJ stares at Hotch after leaving the message. "She must have sent me to voicemail, Hotch. What the hell is going on with her?"

Hotch sighs and tells JJ what he suspects is wrong. JJ slowly nods. "And suddenly we're as bad as Easter in her mind. She's got to be so damn scared."

Hotch nods. "I'm sure she is. JJ…I'm sorry. I should have gone into the park with her."

JJ shrugs. "You couldn't have known Morgan would injure his shoulder again."

"I should have accepted it could happen and made the assignments appropriately. I promise you, JJ, I will do what I have to do to fix this with her."

JJ nods. "I know you will. I'll work on her, too. Hopefully she just needs a little time to get past the fear and anger. I'm hoping she's called the doctor we don't officially see. If she hasn't, I'll make her."

Hotch nods. "Tell her if she needs a couple days she'll have them."

"I will. Thanks, Hotch."

JJ makes her way back to her desk. She is not surprised to see Morgan leaning against it. He stands, shame in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Jayje."

She shakes her head. "Not your fault, Morgan. She'll know that, too. She just needs a couple of days."

"Tell her if she needs to talk to me or…or yell at me or anything she can call anytime day or night. And tell her I love her."

"I will, Derek. Thank you."

It is a tense rest of the day at the BAU.

* * *

At 2:15 Dr. Westfallen calls Emily back. "When can you get here, Emily," the doctor asks immediately.

"I'm in the parking lot."

"Come on up."

"Thank you."

Emily takes a deep breath and makes her way to the one person who might possibly be able to help her deal with the feelings of rage and betrayal coursing though her body.


End file.
